The 2023 Triple Crown will come to a conclusion with the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 10.
The field is set to feature nine horses and is headlined by No. 6 Forte (5-2).
Forte was the morning-line favorite to win the Kentucky Derby but was scratched due to a bruised foot.
The oddsmakers are clearly confident that the injury shouldn’t have a significant impact on Forte on Saturday.
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He’s the morning-line favorite, ahead of No. 2 Tapit Trice (3-1) and No. 8 Angel of Empire (7-2).
The Preakness winner, No. 4 National Treasure is the fourth-favorite at 5-1.
A field of nine horses featuring a lukewarm favorite and question marks around the other contenders — Tapit Trice has had issues getting out of the gate.
National Treasure will need to get to the front of the pack and stay there, while deep closers like Angel of Empire tend to struggle at the Belmont — should make for some exciting betting at the Big Sandy.
Note: This race could be canceled due to poor air quality.
2023 Belmont Stakes picks
Best bet to win: No. 3 Arcangelo (8-1)
You don’t have to go back too far to find a horse with Arcangelo’s profile winning a Triple Crown race.
Mage, who won the Kentucky Derby at 16-1, was a late-developing, ever-improving horse that looked like he was peaking at the exact right time.
Forte trains on the track during morning workouts prior to the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont ParkGetty ImagesArcangelo is a similar story.
After coming up short in his first two races, Arcangelo has won two on the spin, most notably at the Peter Pan Stakes over the Belmont Track last month.
Like Mage, there’s a chance that we’re dealing with a late-bloomer that is trending toward his best race at the exact right time.
And in a beatable field like this, it’s worth exploring that angle at these odds.
Best long shot to use in exotics: No. 7 Hit Show (10-1)
There are a couple of easy tosses to make in this field.
No. 5 Il Miracolo is aptly named and will need plenty of help from the gods to contend in this field.
He could go off at a bigger price than the 30-1 he was tagged with on the morning-line.
I’m also gonna cross out No. 1 Tapit Shoes (20-1). Brad Cox has three horses in this field, and it’s likely he’ll want one of the three to be sent out of the gates to put some pressure on National Treasure as a potential pace-setter.
That will likely lead to him tiring out down the stretch of this grueling race.
That puts us on Hit Show, another Brad Cox horse, as a viable long shot to use as a long shot win contender or as a horse to juice up the price of your exactas and trifectas.
A horse is bathed at sunrise outside it’s barn prior to the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 08, 2023 in Elmont, New York. All training and racing on the track were cancelled today due to the Canadian wildfires. Air pollution alertsGetty ImagesBetting on the Belmont Stakes 2023?
Hit Show finished fifth at the Kentucky Derby, but it was a more impressive performance than the actual result portrays.
You could make a similar argument for his runner-up finish at the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in April.
That race saw Hit Show overcome a lot of trouble to finish a nose behind 59-1 long shot Lord Miles.
A beaten favorite at the Wood Memorial and a fifth-place showing at the Kentucky Derby may not look good on paper.
Still, there’s more to those results than meets the eye, and since the on-paper performances are not eye-popping, you’re still getting a decent number on a horse with race-winning potential.
