Belmont Stakes Betting – Dullahan Ruins I’ll Have Another’s Chance For Glory
Online betting sharps should be all over the Belmont Stakes, where I’ll Have Another tries to become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Triple Crown. While he’ll put up a good fight and make another late-race surge, a rested Dullahan should be able to hold him off.
What: Horse Betting
When: Saturday, June 9th, post time to be determined
Where:Belmont Park, Elmont , NY
Pick: Dullahan
The Favorites
Of course, it all starts with I’ll Have Another (+250), and he is a second-half horse as both wins at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes came with late-race runs at the expense of Bodemeister on both occasions; Bodemeister will not run in the Belmont, which opens up the door for other horses to challenge I’ll Have Another. Union Rags (+350) will step back into the mix after sitting out the Preakness, which followed a seventh-place run at the Kentucky Derby, which was the first time in seven races that he finished outside the top three. He has four wins overall, but he didn’t have a good trip at Churchill Downs and looks to return with a flourish at Belmont Park in this 1.5-mile race.
Paynter (+400) will also throw his name into the horse betting ring, but he doesn’t have that much experience with only three starts, winning his maiden, but Paynter has at least run against I’ll Have Another before. The two faced off at the Grade-1 Santa Anita Derby in April, and I’ll Have Another took the victory while Paynter fell to fourth.
The Second Tier
Dullahan (+450) has made nine starts in his career, never finishing lower than fifth, and he finished a very respectable third at the Kentucky Derby behind I’ll Have Another and Bodemeister. Three of those starts came in maidens races, but the other five were graded-stakes races and four were Grade-1 events. He is also rested after sitting out the Preakness, so Dullahan should be one to watch.
Mark Valeski (+800) has finished either first or second in five of his six races, including two maidens and an allowance race, but his other three starts came in Grade-2 races. He did manage to win the Grade-2 Peter Pan Stakes in the middle of May and it was held at Belmont Park, and having success at a certain track, much like baseball players who prefer a certain stadium, can make a difference in their performance.
The Longshots
The rest of the horse betting field for the Belmont will be considered longshots, starting with Street Life (+2000), and he finished third in the Peter Pan behind Mark Valeski and Right to Vote. His biggest race to date was in the Grade-1 Wood Memorial at Aquaduct, where he finished sixth, but his performance at the Peter Pan showed that he may be ready to place if he can handle the 1.5-mile distance. Alpha (+2500) is a tricky horse to figure out with five finishes of at least first or second, but the other two were 11th and 12th, and they were in the Breeders Cup Juvenile and the Kentucky Derby; maybe he just has an aversion to Churchill Downs, but in the biggest races of his career, Alpha hasn’t been able to show what he can do and he’ll look to turn that around at Belmont Park.
Rousing Sermon (+3000) has made 10 starts, finishing outside the top three just twice, but he did came in eighth at the Kentucky Derby. He has a lot of experience and has raced all over the country, but we’re not sure if Rousing Sermon has the chops to hang with the top horses unless he gets out to a fantastic start. The rest of the field currently is filled out by Antigun (+4500), Stealcase (+4500), Optimizer (+5000), Unstoppable U (+5000),Five Sixteen(+6000) and Guyana Star Dweej (+6000), and all of those horses will need luck and the top horses to fall (literally or figuratively) if they’re going to claim a massive upset.
How It Will Play Out
It’s difficult to imagine any horse outside of the horse betting favorites winning the “Test of the Champion”, and all eyes will be on I’ll Have Another, a horse that has captured the imagination of the sports world as he attempts one of the toughest tasks in sports.
However, our money is Dullahan, a balanced horse that has raced against the best regularly and finished third in his longest distance, which was the Kentucky Derby. The issue will be getting a large enough lead to hold off I’ll Have Another, a horse that will become known as the rally king if he has another late run, but Dullahan, a rested horse, should be your sports betting play.
Belmont Stakes Betting Pick: Dullahan
