Mo Donegal, Nest Are a Strong Belmont Pair for Pletcher

The Belmont Stakes (G1), the final jewel of the Triple Crown, will be run on Saturday, June 11! One of the top betting races of the year, the Belmont features eight horses who will go 1 ½ miles, longer than they have ever gone before. At stake are a $1.5 million purse, the iconic blanket of carnations, and a place in horse racing lore!

Read on to find out the best horses in the Belmont Stakes and the best places to bet the Belmont online in California!

Belmont Stakes Betting Online

Even if you cannot travel to New York for the Belmont Stakes, you can still be a part of it. Online betting sites mean you can get the best odds from the Belmont Stakes on your smartphone, tablet, or computer — anywhere with an Internet connection! And our expert reviews can help you choose a trusted racebook with ease.

All of our recommended racebooks have reliable deposits and cash-outs, easy user interfaces, and market-leading odds. They also offer horse racing bonuses such as sign-up and deposit incentives, rebates, and referral benefits! It pays to compare which bonuses are best for your betting style because then you will earn even more money playing the races!

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Belmont Stakes Field

This is the official field for the 2022 Belmont Stakes, including draw numbers, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines:

1. We the People (Rodolphe Brisset/Flavien Prat) - 2/1
2. Skippylongstocking (Saffie Joseph, Jr./Manuel Franco) - 20/1
3. Nest (Todd Pletcher/Jose Ortiz) - 8/1
4. Rich Strike (Eric Reed/Sonny Leon) - 7/2
5. Creative Minister (Ken McPeek/Brian Hernandez, Jr.) - 6/1
6. Mo Donegal (Todd Pletcher/Irad Ortiz, Jr.) - 5/2
7. Golden Glider (Mark Casse/Dyland Davis) - 20/1
8. Barber Road (John Ortiz/Joel Rosario) - 10/1

With the field drawn, it is time to start watching the odds at our recommended online racebooks. The best part about betting the race online is that, unlike at the track, you can lock in your odds the moment you bet! This means that, when you see an overlay on a horse you think can win, you can be guaranteed that those are the odds you will get when they win!

These are the odds on the top Belmont contenders at the best California sportsbooks:

Horses
We the People	+225	+200	+200
Mo Donegal	+250	+250	+250
Rich Strike	+400	+350	+350
Creative Minister	+650	+600	+600
Nest	+800	+800	+800

Belmont Stakes Handicapping

The Belmont Stakes is one of the best handicapping challenges of the year. No one has gone a mile and a half yet, so a lot of it boils down to pedigree. Paying attention to the jockeys also matters since jockeys who are inexperienced with Belmont’s sweeping oval often misjudge when to make a move.

Running style also matters as horses with tactical speed tend to do well at the Belmont. Specifically, the deep-closing Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike may find himself in deep water at a much shorter price, given the slower pace and the Belmont preference for tactical speed. He could fill out a superfecta, but it is hard to see him repeating his Derby triumph.

Belmont Stakes Favorites

We the People is the morning line favorite. The Peter Pan (G3) winner is proven over the Belmont course and his early speed running style gives him a pace advantage. However, he is not yet proven against top-class horses. Furthermore, even with a sire and damsire who bode well for stamina, his close female family is sprint-oriented enough to raise questions about the final furlong.

Those questions open up the way for Mo Donegal, who is stoutly bred and trained by three-time Belmont winner Todd Pletcher. Though he closed from well off the pace to finish fifth in the Kentucky Derby, earlier races like the Remsen (G2) show he can sit closer to the pace and run winning races against good horses. If excellent Belmont rider Irad Ortiz reprises that running style, Mo Donegal has a great chance to win the Belmont.

Nest, Mo Donegal’s stablemate in the Pletcher barn, also has significant upside in the Test of the Champion. Though she has to move forward from her second-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks, she is another with some back form closer to the pace. She also possesses as good a distance pedigree as exists in this year’s Belmont field. At a price, she has a great chance to be in the picture from start to finish.

Belmont Stakes Price Horses

Barber Road still seeks his first stakes win, but he keeps running good races against top company. Even though he rallied from last for sixth in the Kentucky Derby, that was a function of the nuclear early pace. He has several good efforts from much closer to the pace, meaning that this consistent horse should be able to adjust, sit closer, and capture his customary underneath share.

Belmont Stakes Bets

With your betting account all set up and with your introduction to the top horses in the field, there is just one thing left to do: place your bets!  Here are the best bets for Saturday’s 2022 Belmont Stakes:

• $20 to win - #6 Mo Donegal
• $1 exacta key - #6 Mo Donegal with #1 We the People, #3 Nest
• $1 trifecta key - #6 Mo Donegal with #1 We the People, #3 Nest, #8 Barber Road
• 20 cent superfecta key - #6 Mo Donegal with #1 We the People, #3 Nest, #4 Rich Strike, #8 Barber Road