Horse Racing: Wide Open Belmont Stakes Set for Saturday

No Triple Crown at stake? No problem says Al Dannity. The Belmont Stakes offers the kind of test that makes it worthy of the attention of bettors even without a Triple Crown chase.

Not your usual Belmont
The length of the Belmont Stakes means that horse racing betting fans are often subjected to races with all the pace of a high school cross country track meet. Jockeys often jog their mounts around the track before finally upping the tempo late. Well if Haile Gebrselassie turned up at a track meet the normal order wouldn’t work, he’d push the pace hard from the start and challenge you to beat him. The Ethiopian great would surely appreciate the style of Shackleford, a horse that doesn’t like the normal way of doing things. Having set the pace at both of the previous legs of the Triple Crown, you can be sure Shackleford will hit the ground running early on Saturday and challenge the rest of the field to match it. This will be a battle from the off.

Not a fluke
Having shockingly won the Kentucky Derby and narrowly missed out at the Preakness, Animal Kingdom will be eager to set the record straight against Shackleford in the Belmont Stakes. A second win in the Triple Crown series would silence any doubters who question if Animal Kingdom’s victory at Churchill Downs was a one-off. The distance could however prove a killer to Animal Kingdom’s hopes but victory at Belmont Park would surely guarantee Horse of the Year honors. The big advantage for Animal Kingdom is in the way it finished at both Churchill Downs and the Preakness. In both races it was clearly picking up pace towards the end and a longer race will give Animal Kingdom more of an opportunity to deliver that killer punch with speed towards the end.

Not a two-horse race
Shackleford and Animal Kingdom are the two names ringing in bettors ears after the first two races of the Triple Crown series but they aren’t the only horses to watch. Nehro was rested for the Preakness, giving it an added freshness over the big two going into this weekend’s race. Mucho Macho Man remains, of course, an emotional favorite. Having been named in honor of the Village People, one wonders if that other Macho Man who passed away recently will cast a lucky eye over this horse. Can you dig it?