2023 Belmont Stakes Betting Guide

The 1½-mile Belmont Stakes event, which attracts the nation’s top 3-year-old horses, takes place on the first or second Saturday in June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, three weeks after the Preakness.

This page will outline the Belmont’s stature, betting variables and trends for the event which makes New York the center of the horse-racing world.

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2023 Belmont Stakes odds and betting favorites

Here are the 2023 Belmont Stakes horses, pole positions, and morning line odds, provided by FanDuel Racing.

How to bet on the Belmont Stakes in NY

For bettors in New York who want to get in on the Belmont Stakes action, look no further than the FanDuel Racing horse betting app.

The platform allows bettors to place wagers via their cell phones, computers or tablets.

What’s more, racetracks throughout the Empire State, if allowing spectators, will certainly accommodate. So, too, will simulcasting facilities.

Here are the New York tracks bettors can consult with and/or attend as the event draws closer:

Common types of bets

New York racing has always been an industry leader in sparking betting interest by offering manageable takeout percentages, which represent the percentage of each dollar wagered that the track keeps. The New York Racing Association is among the best in the business for win, place and show bets in particular.

• 15%: Pick 5
• 16%: Win, Place, Show
• 18.5%: Exacta, Quinella, Daily Double
• 20%: Empire 6
• 24%: Trifecta, Superfecta, Grand Slam, Pick 3, Pick

This makes the win bet more playable for gamblers. Here are many of the different types of bets available.

• Win: Bet on the winning horse. Odds are reasonable for any winner in this race, given the top competition. Minimum bet is usually $2.
• Place: A horse to finish second or higher.
• Show: A horse to finish third or higher. Place and show bets pay less than the win wager but offer more opportunities to cash a ticket.
• Exactas: Select the order of the top two finishers. It’s always good to box them. You’d hate to have the right two horses in the wrong order.
• Trifectas: Pick the top three finishers in order. Wagered via straight bet, a box of three or more horses or a partial wheel.
  • The Box: A $1 trifecta box with three horses costs $6. Any combination of these three horses in the top three positions becomes a winning ticket.
  • The Key: For the same $6, bettors can place a horse in the first spot, followed by three others in the second and third slots. Example: A $1 trifecta key with the “1” over the “2-3-4” means the 1 horse must win and any combo of the “2-3-4” in the next two slots is a winning ticket. For $12, you can take that 1 horse in the first and second position with the other three horses. Same principle if the horse runs second. The others must fill in the first and third slots.
• Superfecta: Picking the top four horses in the correct order. Same combinations for trifectas can be used. The superfecta is often lucrative, but extremely hard to hit. But the principle of keying a horse can also valuable. This proved true in the 2019 Belmont.

Handicapping the Belmont Stakes

The first angle is pedigree. If a horse has won the Derby and Preakness, he will be the first consideration.

But, any horses coming out of the Derby and Preakness present a second level of consideration. They have eliminated the pretenders. That said, keep an eye on horses entered just for the Belmont without running in the Derby or Preakness. They may be fresher and that’s been a source of disgruntlement by some trainers who ran their horse in all three Triple Crown events.

The training angle is important too. For example, Bob Baffert trained two previous Triple Crown winners, American Pharoah and Justify. Also, Todd Pletcher has trained three Belmont winners over the years.

The distance angle is tricky because the 1½-mile route is unique. There is no circuit for horses regularly running this distance.
And sometimes, as in 2019, the race may go to the horse that “gets the best trip.”

Sir Winston, who had failed to win Grade 3 events earlier in the year, captured this Grade 1 event with a combination of determination and positioning. Gaining a ground-saving trip on the inside, he took the lead late and held off Tacitus, who swung wide and could not make up the difference. Tacitus had beaten Sir Winston earlier in the year.

Handicap the speed angle. The distance is usually too long for a horse to break in front, fight off other horses and win. Many winners use the first mile and a quarter to keep contact with the pace, roll to the outside and overcome the leaders down the stretch.

The eventual winner often is not leading at the top of the stretch, so a well-timed move often determines the outcome.

Prestige of the Belmont

The Belmont, first run in 1867, has an iconic industry presence.

It is not only the oldest Triple Crown competition but also the fourth-oldest race in North America behind the Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland (1831), the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine (1860) and the Travers at Saratoga Springs (1864).

On 36 occasions, the Belmont has hosted an attempted Triple Crown Sweep. Thirteen horses added the Belmont Stakes victory to previous wins in that year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

Some of the 23 failed bids were intensified by a $5 million bonus then in place for a Triple Crown winner. Some $5 million payouts were denied by the narrowest of margins, including one by a nose.

Belmont positioning as Triple Crown third leg

Being the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont has two vantage points.

If no horse sweeps the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, the Belmont becomes a standalone, high-profile, seven-figure event ($1.5 million purse in 2019).

But if a horse does win the first two Triple Crown legs, the Belmont becomes an electrified worldwide betting magnet, aided by three weeks of extensive publicity.

The Belmont enjoyed a record 120,194 fans in 2004 for Smarty Jones’ unsuccessful Triple Crown bid and capped the number of spectators to roughly 90,000 in 2015 for parking and logistics purposes.

That’s the year American Pharoah ended the Triple Crown’s longest drought of 37 years. Without the attendance cap, the event may have drawn 150,000 spectators.

This is the longest of the three Triple Crown races, ahead of the 1¼-mile Kentucky Derby and 13⁄16-mile Preakness Stakes.

The race returns to 1½ miles after being run at an unusual distance of 1⅛ miles last year and becoming the first, rather than the final, Triple Crown leg. That stopped a nearly 100-year stretch of the Belmont running its grueling 1½-mile distance since 1925. The main track, in fact, is the largest dirt thoroughbred racecourse in North America.

The race is named after August Belmont, who had been a leading banker and racing figure of the 19th century. He was also the first president of the Jockey Club in 1867. In 1869, August Belmont took first and second money with his own Fenian and Glenelg.

Famous Belmont Stakes winners include 13 Triple Crown champions:

Of the 23 near-misses, nine have occurred since 1990. These horses won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, but could not capture the Belmont.

As for the largest upsets by odds:

• 2002: Sarava, 70-1
• 1961: Sherluck, 65-1
• 1980: Temperence Hill, 53-1
• 2004: Birdstone, 36-1
• 1971: Pass Catcher, 34-1

We’d be remiss not to mention 1973, year of the legendary Secretariat. Completing one of the most amazing six-week runs by any thoroughbred, Secretariat prevailed by a Belmont-record 31 lengths. He also established the Belmont Stakes and world record for 1½ miles on dirt, 2:24, which stands today.