Belmont Stakes 2012 Post Positions: Three Favorites That Will Fall Behind Early

With I'll Have Another pulling out the Belmont Stakes, there has been a lot of the luster lost on this year's race. However, despite the lack of a Triple Crown contender this year, the current favorites, Dullahan, Union Rags and Paynter could all fall behind early.

Dullahan is the new favorite for the race, now that I'll Have Another is scratched. However, according to the Associated Press, trainer Dale Romans doesn't like that I'll Have Another won't be racing:

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"I thought it was going to be one of the greatest races in history, and I was wanting to be part of it," Romans said. "This gives us a better opportunity but this was going to be bigger than that."

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Also, he wasn't given a favorable slot as he was put into post 5. Post 5 is in the middle of all the horses and could lead to him getting stuck behind the much slower horses around him if he doesn't get a great jump out of the gate. He is between Atigun and Ravelo's Boy, both big longshots to win the race, but if they get a better jump they could hold Dullahan back.

Union Rags is another horse that could take the Belmont. He was one of the most athletic horses in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but poor jockeying led to him losing both races. PostStar.com's Kyle Brownwell agrees that Union Rags has a true shot at winning the Belmont Stakes:

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Stubborn supporters of Union Rags rationalize less-than-ideal journeys in his last pair of starts have resulted in less-than-satisfying results. A jockey change to John Velazquez, who won this race in 2007 with Rags to Riches, and a return to Belmont Park, where Union Rags won the Champagne as a juvenile, should right the ship.

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However, the top challenger to Dullahan in today's race could also fall victim to a bad slot. He drew post 3 and faces a lot of the same issues that Dullahan faces. Atigun could be a quick breaking horse out of the gate, but if he slows down at any point, he could be the clog between Dullahan and Union Rags that allows another horse to come around the corner and win the race.

Paynter also has a shot and is the third-best horse still in the race. He is another athletic horse that could be even better than I'll Have Another but was over shadowed by his own stable-mate Bodemeister. SBNation's Ed Valentine speculates that Paynter could be better than Bodemeister, even quoting owner Ahmed Zayat:

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"He's more versatile than people think. He can probably do anything," said owner Ahmed Zayat. ""If you asked me personally, I always thought Bodemeister is a very nice colt. [Trainer] Bob Baffert, [from] day 1, thought Paynter was the better horse. He thinks he's a really, really nice horse."

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The big issue could be that he drew post 9. While there have been three winners from post 9 since 1998, the problem is that he could be behind a trio of 50-1 horses if he doesn't get out of the gate quickly enough. He does have the athleticism to charge late like I'll Have Another but he needs to explode out of the gate to have a true shot.

The slotting and post positions are one of the key factors to how these three horses will be possibly falling behind. However, even if they do fall behind early, these all could end up as late chargers and be in the trifecta or superfecta by the end of the Belmont Stakes.