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The final jewel of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, happens Saturday, June 8! Though it usually happens at 1 ½ miles on the dirt at Belmont Park, construction at this race’s historical home has moved it to Saratoga Race Course this year, where it will be contested at 1 ¼ miles.
Even with its shorter distance and different location, the race is still a showcase of the best three-year-olds in the country. The purse has been raised to $2 million, and with such a deep field, players who bet the Belmont Stakes can cash in a windfall!
Keep reading to find out who can win, and where the best places are to bet the race!
Where to Bet the Belmont
Before you start to look at the field, you will set yourself up for success if you find the best place to bet the Belmont online. There are many choices of sportsbooks online, so it can feel difficult to pick the right one. Fortunately, we have trusted sportsbook reviews to help you make a quick, confident choice!
All of our recommended sportsbooks have great odds, trusted payouts, and smooth user interfaces. Each site also offers a different bonus structure. Those bonuses include deposit and sign-up bonuses, referral benefits, and even horse racing rebates. Taking a few minutes now to pick the best one for your betting style can mean hundreds or even thousands of dollars for your bankroll!
Belmont Stakes Horses and Odds
These are the official entrants for the 2024 Belmont Stakes, along with their post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning line odds:
- Seize the Grey (D. Wayne Lukas/Jaime Torres) – 8/1
- Resilience (Bill Mott/Junior Alvarado) – 10/1
- Mystik Dan (Kenny McPeek/Brian Hernandez, Jr.) – 5/1
- The Wine Steward (Mike Maker/Manny Franco) – 15/1
- Antiquarian (Todd Pletcher/John Velazquez) – 12/1
- Dornoch (Danny Gargan/Luis Saez) – 15/1
- Protective (Todd Pletcher/Tyler Gaffalione) – 20/1
- Honor Marie (Whit Beckman/Florent Geroux) – 12/1
- Sierra Leone (Chad Brown/Flavien Prat) – 9/5
- Mindframe (Todd Pletcher/Irad Ortiz, Jr.) – 7/2
Keep in mind that the morning line is not a guarantee of odds, but rather the racetrack’s best estimate for the post time odds. Your best bet is to play the Belmont online, since online racebooks offer fixed-odds wagering on many of the biggest races around the world. That way, you can lock in the best odds on your Belmont pick the moment you bet!
These are the odds on the 2024 Belmont Stakes contenders at the best online betting sites:
 |  |  |
|
| Sierra Leone | +175 | +180 | +180 |
| Mindframe | +250 | +350 | +325 |
| Seize the Grey | +500 | +800 | +750 |
| Mystik Dan | +650 | +500 | +750 |
| Resilience | +1000 | +1000 | +1100 |
Free Belmont Picks
Even though the Belmont Stakes will cover a shorter distance this year than in most years past, the race is still an important test of stamina. Horses who did not run in the Kentucky Derby have never tried 1 ¼ miles, and even the ones who did run in the Derby have only tried it once, in a huge and chaotic field.
These are the leading contenders among the 2024 Belmont Stakes field.
Belmont Stakes Best Bet
The best bet in the Belmont Stakes is Mystik Dan. He does line up against tough company, including rematches with Seize the Grey and Sierra Leone. But, this is a different race than the Preakness, and Seize the Grey is going to have to deal with company up front from Dornoch, The Wine Steward, and perhaps Mindframe. That will make it tougher for Seize the Grey, who was looking like a miler before the Preakness, to stay on.
That’s also great news for Mystik Dan, who drew a nice near-inside gate and should be able to get a cozy rail run once again. Mystik Dan also tends to sit closer to the early pace than Sierra Leone, meaning he can get the jump just like he did in the Kentucky Derby.
Belmont Stakes Contenders
Sierra Leone is the morning-line favorite in a competitive field, but he is simply too consistent to toss. He is two noses short of a perfect career record. Even though he is a closer, he can rally into a modest pace. And, even if he gets going early, he can keep pouring it on down the lane instead of flattening out – he has true Classic stamina, as we saw in the Kentucky Derby.
Honor Marie can bounce back from his trouble in the Kentucky Derby. With a smaller field, he has a better chance of coming away cleanly and not being completely out of touch with the rest of the field early. He is still a closer, but barring several scratches should be plenty of pace, and the switch to more experienced big-dirt-race jockey Florent Geroux could make the difference.
Especially if speed is playing well, give Resilience a long look. He was mired near the parking lot in the Kentucky Derby, but drew toward the inside for this. He won the Wood Memorial (G2) with a stalking trip despite a bigger field, meaning he should have the maturity to work a tactical forward trip this time and improve off his seventh-place run at Churchill Downs.
Belmont Stakes Longshot
Even though Protective is a maiden, he already has two races worth of stakes experience. He was third in the Wood Memorial after a troubled start, showing he can stay interested if thing start rough, and then third again in the Peter Pan (G3) after sitting closer to the pace. He still has room to improve after just four starts, and his pedigree appeals for the stretch out.
Belmont Free Picks
You know the contenders, and you have made your account to bet the Belmont Stakes online. Now, all that’s left is the most fun part: placing your wagers!
Here are the best bets for the 2024 Belmont Stakes!
- $20 to win – #3 Mystik Dan
- $1 exacta key – #3 Mystik Dan with #2 Resilience, #8 Honor Marie, #9 Sierra Leone
- $1 trifecta key – #3 Mystik Dan with #2 Resilience, #7 Protective, #8 Honor Marie, #9 Sierra Leone
- 20 cent superfecta key – #3 Mystik Dan with #2 Resilience, #7 Protective, #8 Honor Marie, #9 Sierra Leone
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