Belmont Stakes 2012 Post Positions: Where I'll Have Another Ended Up

The post positions for the 2012 Belmont Stakes have been drawn, and Triple Crown hopeful I'll Have Another will start the race at post position No. 11.

Despite missing out on the coveted No. 1 post position, Doug O'Neill's horse is in better shape than most heading into this Saturday's Belmont Stakes. The Belmont is the longest of the three Triple Crown races at one-and-a-half miles, so Gutierrez will have plenty of time to figure out the best way to run the horse.

He'll have the luxury of hanging on the outside to see whether the field comes out of the gate hot or starts at a slow pace, and make a decision from there.

As for the rest of the field, here they are.

Street Life, who came in third in his last race at the Peter Pan Stakes, drew the No. 1 post position. Chad Brown's horse will be jockeyed by Jose Lezcano, and the two likely see this draw as a huge win for the horse with 15-1 odds (odds according to belmontstakes.com). The first position has produced at least 10 more wins than every other post position at the Belmont Stakes.

At the second post is Kenneth McPeek's Unstoppable U. The colt won his last race at the Belmont allowance and will be looking for his second consecutive victory this Saturday.

One of I'll Have Another's toughest opponents, Union Rags, drew the third post position for the Belmont Stakes. Michael Matz is surely hoping that his horse can improve on his seventh-place finish at the Kentucky Derby.

The second McPeek-trained horse in the field, Atigun, finds himself at the fourth position. At 30-1 odds, Atigun could have used a better draw, as he will likely see some bumping amongst the field at the outset of the race, and that never bodes well for underdogs.

Dullahan is going to be the biggest challenger for I'll Have Another in this race. He's been listed at 5-1 odds to upset O'Neill's horse, but drew the No. 5 position, a spot that isn't always welcomed. The Belmont is the longest of the three races, so that will give jockey Javier Castellano a chance to get out of the muck that comes with starting in the middle of pack.

The horses that drew the six, seven and eight spots have been given virtually no shot by the oddsmakers to win the race. Ravelo's Boy, Five Sixteen and Guyana Star Dweej find themselves at an even greater disadvantage after receiving unfortunate draws. Most don't expect much out of these three, but most didn't expect much out of I'll Have Another either.

Paynter (8-1) and Optimizer (30-1) drew the ninth and 10th spots for Saturday's race. The former, Bob Baffert's horse, will be looking to avenge Bodemeister's narrow loss to I'll Have Another at the Preakness Stakes. This draw is extremely crucial to the race because if I'll Have Another can get in a position to box Paynter in early, we might see a large margin of victory from Gutierrez and his colt.

My Adonis, the final addition to the field, drew the outside No. 12 position. The only way that George and Lori Hall's horse will be a factor is if he can get a lead on the outside early.

We're in for a doozy in New York on June 9, and the established post positions make for another interesting story line at the Belmont Stakes.