Belmont Stakes 2012 Odds: Foolish Bets You Must Avoid

Saturday will bring tremendous excitement to the 2012 Belmont Stakes, as I'll Have Another looks to dance with history and win the first Triple Crown since 1977.

He's not the only horse in the field, and 11 other horses will look to prevent I'll Have Another from taking the crown.

While horses like Dullahan, Union Rags and Paynter will pick up bets as spoiler choices, there are some horses you want to avoid.

The mile-and-a-half race separates the contenders from the pretenders. You want a horse that closes hard, not a horse that starts out early.

There's no need to waste your money on foolish bets.

There are plenty of horses who are inexperienced and have never run a race at this distance. Some will simply be out of their league.

In order to avoid a betting catastrophe, we'll give you some horses to steer clear of come race day.

Five Sixteen

Five Sixteen should be better than he is.

The horse was fathered by former horse of the year Invasor and was bought for $225,000.

But the results haven't matched the expectations.

Five Sixteen took five tries to get his first Maiden.  His next race after his Maiden had him finish in fourth, beaten by over 11 lengths.

Furthermore, in a February race, Five Sixteen lost to another horse in the field, Street Life. 

He's also, according to Horse Race Insider, very slow. That means it'll be hard for him to start out at the head of the pack, and it will be hard for him to catch up.

In his last race, according to the Daily Racing Form, Five Sixteen "acted up at the gate" and failed to make any sort of impact. He finished in fourth.

Five Sixteen holds 50-1 odds entering Thursday, which seems right where it should be. While Five Sixteen has the pedigree, he does not have the results. It will also be his longest race of his career.

His speed, or lack thereof, is a huge hindrance to him winning at Belmont. Add that to a very lackluster career, and Five Sixteen does not seem like the ideal horse to bet on.

Putting money on a 50-1 long shot who hasn't proven much in his career would be a very foolish bet. Don't make it. 

Guyana Star Dweej

Guyana Star Dweej has a talented jockey in Kent Desormeaux, but that's about all he has going for him.

The horse has never beaten someone who has won a race, and he'll be facing plenty of those on Saturday. 

In his last race he lost to Unstoppable U, where, according to the Daily Racing Form, he was "no match" for the fellow Belmont entry.

At 50-1 odds, Guyana Star Dweej seems like the unlikeliest of winners. 

He's never run a race this long and is facing a big jump in competition.

In a Monday workout, Guyana Star Dweej was unimpressive, according to The Daily Racing Form. He started off fast, but faded at the end, which is not something you want to do when running a long distance race. He also had an aborted workout on May 30th, where the trainer said the horse just "didn't want to work" (via DRF).

His owners and trainers considered running him in the Preakness, but they pulled him after he suffered a front left leg injury, according to Blood Horse.

Furthermore, according to Horse Race Insider, the horse is just "not talented enough" to win.

Between poor workouts, running his first race at this distance and losing previously to horses in this race, it seems like Guyana Star Dweej has earned his 50-1 odds. 

If you want to make money on your bets, we think it's best to stay away from Guyana Star Dweej.

Ravelo's Boy

Ravelo's Boy has experience against high quality competition but has not fared well in those outings.

The horse is 0-4 in stakes competitions. His last start at the Tampa Bay Derby resulted in a fifth-place finish. In that race, according to the Miami Herald, he injured his right front heel.

In three races this year, Ravelo's Boy has not finished higher than fourth.

At 50-1 odds, the horse is viewed as a long shot.

While his trainer is excited about his work in practice so far, even he has concerns about the horse and his pedigree. According to the Daily Racing Form, trainer Manny Azpurua said that:

"

The owner watched the work with me and decided afterwards to go for the Belmont. The horse is doing so well right now. The only concern I have is the mile and one half. His dam can go any distance but his father has sired a lot of fast horses that don’t show they can go long. But I loved the way he finished today, especially after galloping one and one half times around before the work.

"

It's more than a bit troubling that his father has a history of breeding horses that don't do well at long races—and perhaps even more concerning that his trainer admitted it.

With Ravelo's Boy facing some tough competition, it's hard to imagine him winning.

Expect Ravelo's Boy to get off to a fast start but fade as the race gets deeper.

Avoid a foolish bet and stay away from Ravelo's Boy. 

Unstoppable U

Unstoppable U has a few things going for him.

He's undefeated in his past two races, which he won pretty handily. 

In his last race, an April 27th gallop, the horse pulled away from fellow Belmont contender Guyana Star Dweej.

At 30-1 odds, the horse isn't as much of a long shot of some of the horses mentioned earlier.

But he has a lot to overcome if he wants to win.

The first major hurdle is that he's never run a race of this distance. His two races this year were six furlongs and a mile. Going to a mile-and-a-half is a major jump.

The second is that he's only run two races and Saturday will be his first graded stakes.

Even his trainer, Ken McPeek, reveals that Unstoppable U and his other horse Atigun are not at the level of some of the other contenders in this race, saying (via ESPN):

"

These horses admittedly are not of the class level of I'll Have Another, Dullahan, Union Rags. They haven't proven it at that level. So I really kind of need to run both of them to have a real shot.

"

Unstoppable U has some speed and is a good contender to start out the race in the front of the pack.

But at this distance, don't expect him to hold on, as some of the more high-profile horses will catch up and surpass him.

The horse has talent, but between the level of competition and the long distance, don't expect him to win. Stay away.