The 150th running of the Belmont Stakes will take place on June 9th at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. This year’s Belmont Stakes could be the scene of the 13th Triple Crown Winner. Justify looks to complete the final leg of the Triple Crown feat after winning at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. The last Triple Crown winner was American Pharoah in 2015.
The “Test of the Champions” race should be a heavily contested race featuring 10 horses. The race is set to open its gates at 6:37 P.M. Justify drew the 1st post position, which bodes well for the horse because the most Belmont champions (23) have been produced from that post position.
The Belmont is the longest of the three Triple-Crown races and continually is the most difficult to win. The length of the race and the addition of rested horses will be two of the barriers Justify will need to overcome to reach the winner’s circle and make history. The Belmont Stakes race length is 1 1/2 miles long. The fastest recorded time at the Belmont belongs to Triple Crown winning horse Secretariat with a time of 2:24 in 1973.
The Favorites:
Justify – The Triple Crown hopeful is trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by jockey Mike Smith. Current odds: 4-5
Hofburg – Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and ridden by jockey Neil Poznansky. Current odds: 9-2
Bravazo – Trained by D. Wayne Lukas and ridden by jockey Luis Saez. Current odds: 8-1
Longshots:
Noble Indy – Trained by Todd Pletcher who has won three Belmont Stakes races (Rags to Riches in 2007, Palace Malice in 2013 and Tapwrit in 2017) and ridden by jockey Javier Castellano. Current odds: 30-1
Free Drop Billy – Trained by Dale Romans and ridden by jockey Robby Albarado. Current odds: 30-1
2018 Belmont Stakes Viewing Details:
Date: Saturday, June 9, 2018
Start Time: 6:37 P.M. ET
TV Channel: NBC
Location: Elmont, New York
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live
Belmont Stakes 2018 Odds and Post Position
- Justify (4-5)
- Free Drop Billy (30-1)
- Bravazo (8-1)
- Hofburg (9-2)
- Restoring Hope (30-1)
- Gronkowski (12-1)
- Tenfold (12-1)
- Vino Rosso (8-1)
- Noble Indy (30-1)
- Blended Citizen (15-1)