The third and final jewel of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, happens Saturday, June 8. Though the race traditionally covers 1 ½ miles on the dirt at Belmont Park, construction at the race’s traditional home means it is being run at Saratoga for the first time ever. The configuration at Saratoga means, to avoid putting the gate on the turn, the race will cover 1 ¼ miles.
Another major change is the purse: it has been raised half a million dollars from last year, making it $2 million. A field including Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan and Preakness winner Seize the Grey will line up to contest the Belmont. With such a great field, no wonder it is one of the top betting horse races of the year.
Stay right here to find out the best horses to bet in the Belmont Stakes, as well as the best online racebooks for betting the Belmont Stakes in California.
As exciting as it would be to go to New York to see the Belmont Stakes in person, we can’t all make it there. Fortunately, you can still be a part of the action from anywhere by signing up for an online betting site! Online racebooks give you the best Belmont Stakes odds from anywhere with an internet connection, and you don’t have to wait in line.
Every one of our expert-recommended online racebooks offers the basics: trusted payouts, great user interfaces, and market-leading odds. Each one also offers horse racing bonuses you’ll never find at the track like sign-up bonuses, horse racing rebates, and referral benefits.
Supercharge your Belmont Stakes bankroll by hundreds or even thousands of dollars by taking a few minutes now to read our reviews and find the best bonuses for your betting style!
This is the official field for the 2024 Belmont Stakes including draw numbers, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines:
Morning-line odds can be a great guide to expected betting action, but they are not a guarantee of a price on track. There, the prices shift until the moment the gates open and betting closes. Betting at an online sportsbook is better because you can lock in your odds at the moment you bet on major horse races. Thus, you know what you will get when your horse wins!
These are the odds on horses at the top of the market for the Belmont Stakes at leading California racebooks:
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Leone | +175 | +180 | +180 |
| Mindframe | +250 | +350 | +350 |
| Seize the Grey | +500 | +800 | +800 |
| Mystik Dan | +650 | +500 | +500 |
| Resilience | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
Unlike most editions of the Belmont Stakes, some horses have tried the distance before: after all, at Saratoga, they are running the Belmont at the same 1 ¼-mile distance as the Kentucky Derby was. However, if a Derby horse ran into trip trouble or if a horse is not coming out of the Kentucky Derby, looking at the distance pedigrees of runners will give vital clues.
Keep running style in mind, too. There is a fallacy that closers will improve with more distance, but often that is not the case. Looking at actual results, horses with tactical or even frontrunning speed win the Belmont more often than closers do. Late-runners can fill out trifectas or superfectas, but need a lot of speed up front in order to be win candidates.
The best bet in the Belmont Stakes is Mystik Dan. The winner of the Kentucky Derby was left chasing for second behind Seize the Grey in the Preakness, but thanks to the likes of Dornoch, The wine Steward, and even Mindframe, the Preakness winner is going to have a lot more company up front at Saratoga. His loss is Mystik Dan’s gain.
Mystik Dan also got an excellent draw for his running style. His best races have shown him making a nice inside run, something his relatively-inside draw will help him do. He is proven at the 1 ¼-mile distance thanks to the Kentucky Derby, and if the rain happens, he has already shown that he is a top-class mudder as well.
Even though Sierra Leone stands to be a well-defined favorite, he is not one you can toss. In five starts, he is two noses away from a perfect record. That is particularly notable since he is a closer: whether the pace has been fast or pedestrian, he has been able to mount a run and continue strongly down the lane. Such a trip should lead to another good result in the Test of the Champion.
Two horses who had troubled outings in the Kentucky Derby, Honor Marie and Resilience, have good reason to bounce back in the Belmont Stakes.
After a rough beginning at Churchill Downs, Honor Marie had to move too early and flattened out late. With a smaller field the beginning may go better, and his new rider Florent Geroux has more top-level dirt race experience. That could help him get a better-timed run and take advantage of his sparkling distance pedigree.
Resilience was hung in an outside gate in the Kentucky Derby, made an early move, and weakened. With a near-inside post in the Belmont, he could get a trip much like the trip that won him the Wood. He should be able to save ground just behind the horses battling on the lead and get a stalk-and-pounce kind of run. Especially if speed is holding well at the Spa this weekend, that could work well.
For deeper exotics, consider Protective. Still a maiden, he is likely going to be the longest shot on the board. However, he has hit the board in two stakes races coming into the Belmont with two different trip shapes. That shows some adaptability. With a good pedigree for stretching out and a sharp Belmont Stakes trainer in Todd Pletcher, he could sneak a piece at a big price.
You’re signed up with the best California racebook for your betting style and you have gotten to know the runners in the Belmont Stakes. There is just one thing left to do: place your wagers!
These are the best bets on the 2024 Belmont Stakes
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