Belmont Stakes 2012 Post Positions: Breaking Down Positions for Top Contenders

While the most talented and most deserving horse will likely win the Belmont Stakes, a good or bad position can make or break the race. 

Take, for example, post position No. 1. According to CBS, 23 of the 106 Belmont winners have come from that position, easily the most of any post.

Additionally, 14 winners have come from No. 3 and No. 5, while 13 have come from No. 7.

Street Life, Union Rags, Dullahan and Five Sixteen all have the opportunity to benefit from history.

Nonetheless, it's not always just about history but also about the style of each horse and how he fits the position. Let's take a closer look at the posts of the contenders and how they will be affected. 

I'll Have Another (No. 11)

This is a terrific spot for the Triple Crown hopeful.

At No. 11, the Derby and Preakness winner is almost all the way on the outside and will be able to get a good eye on how the early pace plays out. As trainer Doug O'Neill puts it, that gives I'll Have Another and Mario Gutierrez lots of options.

"

Being in the 11th hole, we’re able to kind of see how the pace sets up. If they’re crawling, we’ll hopefully be leading the crawl, and if they’re flying, we’ll be sitting in behind the horses flying.

"

I'll Have Another is the clear favorite at Belmont. This draw doesn't change that notion.

Union Rags (No. 3)

Despite the fact that the No. 3 post is historically a good one at Belmont, this isn't a great place for Union Rags.

Consider his race at the Kentucky Derby:

The talented colt got bottled up at the beginning of the race, but amazingly managed to finish seventh after being in 19th for most of the race. He has impressive speed, but I'll Have Another has had problems at the start of races.

Being on the inside once again at Belmont won't help him. 

If he avoids getting bottled up at the beginning, he's going to give I'll Have Another a real run for his money, but that is going to be hard from post No. 3. Further to the outside would have been much better for this horse.

Dullahan (No. 5)

Dullahan, much like both Union Rags and I'll Have Another, is a terrific closer, meaning a post further to the outside would have been better.

At No. 5, however, he's still not far enough inside to get bottled near the rail.

Dale Romans' horse is a lot of peoples' pick to upset I'll Have Another, and this post position won't change those opinions. Of course, it doesn't make him all that more dangerous, either. 

Belmont Stakes Post Positions

Courtesy of chicagotribune.com

Post Position	Horse	Jockey
1	Street Life	Jose Lezcano
2	Unstoppable U	Junior Alvarado
3	Union Rags	John Velazquez
4	Atigun	Julien Leparoux
5	Dullahan	Javier Castellano
6	Ravelo's Boy	Alex Solis
7	Five Sixteen	Rosie Napravnik
8	Guyana Star Dweej	Kent Desormeaux
9	Paynter	Mike Smith
10	Optimizer	Corey Nakatani
11	I'll Have Another	Mario Gutierrez
12	My Adonis	Ramon Dominguez

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