Belmont Stakes 2012: Predicting Finishing Order for Entire Field

The 2012 Belmont Stakes will be full of drama as I’ll Have Another chases the Triple Crown.

Doug O’Neill and J. Paul Reddam’s horse is the 12^th thoroughbred since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978 to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness stakes, only to fail at Belmont.

Will I’ll Have Another be able to make history? Here are my predictions for how each horse will finish. 

1. Dullahan, 5-1 odds, Post No. 5

Dullahan will play spoiler to I’ll Have Another’s Triple Crown quest, but it will be close.

Just like the Derby and the Preakness, I’ll Have Another will hang back and make a late move, but this time, it will not be enough.

After two dramatic victories and the grueling one-and-a-half mile track at Belmont Park, Mario Gutierrez will not be able to coax the same burst out his horse in the final few yards. 

2. I’ll Have Another, 4-5 odds, Post No. 11 

The Derby and Preakness winner did not get a favorable draw, but that will not stop it from hanging back just behind the leaders, setting up a late charge. 

But the Belmont is a different beast with its longer track. Churchill Downs is a one-and-a-quarter mile track and Pimlico measures in at one-and-three-sixteenth miles. 

Dullahan is too talented and too well rested to be beaten down the stretch, and I’ll Have Another will just miss out on making history. 

3. Paynter, 8-1 odds, Post No. 9

This horse is owned by Ahmed Zayat, trained by Bob Baffert and will be jockeyed by Mike Smith.

This is the best possible team any race horse could get, and that will help it place at Belmont.

However, Dullahan’s burst to hold off I’ll Have Another will make sure that Paynter can’t quite keep up with the leaders. 

4. Five Sixteen, 50-1 odds, Post No. 7

This will be the surprise finish of the race. The No. 7 post has been lucky recently, with the winner starting there in three of the last five years. Luck will not be enough for Five Sixteen to place, but the horse won’t finish far off of third. 

5. Union Rags, 6-1 odds, Post No. 3

After a disappointing seventh-place finish at the Kentucky Derby, Union Rags is in for a lackluster end to its Triple Crown season. The cluster at the front will be too crowded and this horse will not get the chance to let loose.

6. Street Life, 12-1 odds, Post No. 1

This is a talented horse that hasn’t been talked about enough. Unfortunately, it received a terrible draw and a bad start on the inside of the track will be too much to overcome.

7. Optimizer, 20-1 odds, Post No. 10

Optimizer finished in the middle of the pack at the Derby (11^th) and the Preakness (sixth ). It is no bold prediction to say that this horse will place in the middle of the pack at the Belmont as well. 

8. Atigun, 30-1 odds, Post No. 4

A favorable draw will help Atigun start fast, but it will also fade fast and finish far away from the front. 

9. Unstoppable U, 30-1 odds, Post No. 2

This long shot was not helped out much by the draw. There just isn’t a whole going in Unstoppable U’s favor, and it will finish near the back.

10. Ravelo’s Boy, 50-1 odds, Post No. 6

Ravelo’s Boy has never won a stakes race and is coming off an injury in it’s last race. Even a good draw will not help the thoroughbred finish near the front.

11. My Adonis, 20-1 odds, Post No. 12

This is a solid race horse, but it received an awful draw. Unfortunately, it will not be able to overcome its poor luck and it will narrowly avoid last place.

12. Guyana Star Dweej, 50-1 odds, Post No. 8

This horse had almost no shot at a win, regardless of its jockey. But choosing the troubled Kent Desormeaux will ensure that Guyana Star Dweej brings up the rear on June 9.