Belmont Stakes Post Positions and Betting Odds

The 151st running of the Belmont Stakes will take place just before 7 pm (EDT) on Saturday, 8 June.  The first Belmont Stakes was run in 1867 at the old Jerome Park Racetrack in the Bronx.  This year, the race will be run over the traditional distance of 1 and 1/2 miles (12 furlongs) at Belmont Park, the track who's nicknames include "the Big Sandy" and "the Graveyard of Champions."  Ten horses will compete on Saturday in the third leg of the Triple Crown for a guaranteed purse of  $1,500,000.  Each of the 3-year-old colts will carry 126 pounds.  We'll see if any contestants can equal the course record set by Secretariat in 1973, when he won the race by 31 lengths in a world record time of 2:24.
   There are ten entries this year - nine bred in Kentucky, and Master Fencer in Japan.  There are five bays or browns, three chestnuts, and two greys or roans. Tax is a gelding and the rest are colts.  Seven of the ten ran in either the Kentucky Derby and/or the Preakness Stakes.  Intrepid Heart is making only his fourth start in a horse race. Three of the ten starters are sons of Tapit: Bourbon War, Intrepid Heart, and Tacitus.

   A little bit about each horse and his connections follows.  The number is his gate position drawn for the Belmont Stakes....
   1.   Joevia  -  a dark bay or brown colt; sired by Shanghai Bobby, out of the War Front mare Peace Process.  Trained by Gregg Sacco, ridden by Jose Lezcano.   Winner of the Long Branch Stakes.  Morning line odds: 30 to 1

   2.   Everfast  - a bay colt;  sired by Take Charge Indy, out of the Awesome Again mare Awesome Surprise.  Trained by Dale Romans, ridden by Luis Saez.  Second in the Preakness Stakes.  Morning line odds: 12 to 1

   3.   Master Fencer (JPN) - a chestnut colt; sired by Just a Way (JPN), out of the Deputy Minister mare Sexy Zamurai.  Trained by Koichi Tsunoda, ridden by Julien Laparoux.  7th in the Kentucky Derby.  Morning line odds: 8 to 1

   4.   Tax - a dark bay or brown gelding; sired by Arch, out of the Giant's Causeway mare Toll. Trained by Danny Gargan, ridden by Irad Ortiza Jr.   14th in the Kentucky Derby.  Morning line odds: 15 to 1

   5.   Bourbon War - a bay colt; sired by Tapit, out of the Artie Schiller mare My Conquestadory. Trained by Mark Hennig, ridden by Mike Smith.  8th in the Preakness Stakes.  Morning line odds: 12 to 1

   6.   Spinoff  - a chestnut colt; sired by Hard Spun, out of the Gone West mare Zaftig.  Trained by Todd Pletcher, ridden by Javier Catellano. Second in the Louisiana Derby; 18th in the Kentucky Derby.  Morning line odds: 15 to 1

   7.   Sir Winston - a chestnut colt; sired by Awesome Again, out of the Afleet Alex mare La Gran Balladora.  Trained by Mark Casse, ridden by Joel Rosario.  Second in the Peter Pan Stakes.  Morning line odds: 12 to 1

   8.   Intrepid Heart - a grey or roan colt; sired by Tapit, out of the Touch Gold mare Flaming Heart.  Trained by Todd Pletcher, ridden by John Velazquez.  Third in Peter Pan Stakes; the Belmont will be his fourth start.  Morning line odds: 10 to 1

   9.   War of Will - a bay colt; sired by War Front, out of the Sadler's Wells mare Visions of Clarity (IRE).  Trained by Mark Casse, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione.  Winner of the Preakness Stakes; horse and jockey caused all of the problems in the Kentucky Derby, causing the disqualification of Maximum Security, and a 15 day suspension for his jockey.  Morning line odds: 2 to 1

  10.   Tacitus - a grey or roan colt; sired by Tapit, out of the First Defence mare Close Hatches.  Trained by Bill Mott, ridden by Jose Ortiz.  Third in the Kentucky Derby.  Morning line odds: 9 to 5

Tacitus the morning line betting favorite for the Belmont Stakes