Preakness 2012 Payouts: Top Results Destined to Change at Belmont Stakes

As predictable as the results at the Preakness Stakes turned out to be, the top three at the Belmont Stakes figures to be equally unpredictable.

The horses with the best morning line odds to win—Bodemeister at 8-5, I'll Have Another at 5-2 and Creative Cause at 6-1—all finished amidst the trifecta, though not in that exact order.

Still, one needed only to look back at the Kentucky Derby to figure out that I'll Have Another, now on his way to a potential Triple Crown, and Bodemeister were the two best horses in the field and, as a result, would more than likely have at least some say in who won at Pimlico.

Hence, the somewhat subpar payouts: For I'll Have Another, $8.40 to win, $3.80 to place and $2.80 to show; for Bodemeister, $3.20 to place and $2.80 to show and for Creative Cause, $3.60 to show.

And, on top of that, $18.60 for the $2 exacta, $70.80 for the $2 trifecta and $424.30 for the $1 superfecta. 

But while I'll Have Another looks primed for another top-three finish at Belmont Park, the other two spots remain firmly up for grabs.

Well, sort of. Bodemeister has bowed out and Creative Cause remains 50/50 to go the distance, leaving Optimizer as the only horse, other than I'll Have Another, who will definitely run all three legs of the Triple Crown this year.

Meanwhile, Union Rags and Dullahan are scheduled to return to competition after skipping out on the Preakness. Union Rags went into the Derby as one of the odds-on favorites to win, behind only Bodemeister, but came in seventh after getting pinched at the start. However, he showed tremendous determination and ability to bounce back from that bit of bad luck to finish strong down the stretch.

As for Dullahan, a third-place finish at Churchill Downs, combined with five weeks of rest, makes him as dangerous as any to crack the top tier of the field at Belmont Park, if not end I'll Have Another's dreams of making horse racing history.

Don't be surprised, then, if I'll Have Another, Union Rags and Dullahan (not necessarily in that order) are the ones staring down the finish line on June 9.

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