Belmont Stakes 2013 Post Positions: Horses Most Impacted by Draw

With the lack of a dominant horse in the 2013 Belmont Stakes and with it being a 14-horse field, there is a greater emphasis on post positions. 

Kentucky Derby winner Orb drew the fifth position and has been inserted as a 3-1 favorite on the morning line. Preakness winner Oxbow is not far behind—in the gate or the odds—at 5-1 and lining up in the seventh position. 

This is a great spot for both horses to line up and will give fans a memorable rubber match between the two. However, with the way the first two legs of the Triple Crown have played out, it feels like we are headed for an upset winner at the Belmont. 

Check out the results from Wednesday's draw, and then I'll lay out the three horses who were the most impacted by it. 

Race Info

Where: Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

When: Saturday, June 8

Post Time: 6:20 p.m. ET

Purse: $1 million

Television: NBC

2013 Belmont Stakes Post Positions and Latest Odds

*Post positions and morning lines via Nailah E. Timberlake of the New York Racing Association.

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Morning Line
1	Frac Daddy	A. Garcia	K. McPeek	30-1
2	Freedom Child	L. Saez	T. Albertrani	8-1
3	Overanalyze	J. Velazquez	T. Pletcher	12-1
4	Giant Finish	E. Prado	A. Dutrow	30-1
5	Orb	J. Rosario	C. McGaughey III	3-1
6	Icognito	I. Ortiz, Jr.	K. McLaughlin	20-1
7	Oxbow	G. Stevens	D.W. Lukas	5-1
8	Midnight Taboo	G. Gomez	T. Pletcher	30-1
9	Revolutionary	J. Castellano	T. Pletcher	9-2
10	Will Take Charge	J. Court	D.W. Lukas	20-1
11	Vyjack	J. Lea	R. Rodriguez	20-1
12	Palace Malice	M. Smith	T. Pletcher	15-1
13	Unlimited Budget (f)	R. Napravnik	T. Pletcher	8-1
14	Golden Soul	R. Albarado	D. Stewart	10-1

No. 7: Oxbow

Oxbow enters this race with the hot hand, and now he will be starting from the hot post as well. Three of the last six winners of the Belmont have started from No. 7. 

Overall, the winner of New York's showcase race has come from the seventh post 11 times. This is the third most of any post. Oxbow has a great shot to make it 12. 

This post is just one further outside the No. 6 spot he occupied to start the Preakness, and that worked out all right for Oxbow, as Yahoo! Sports pointed out: 

If you were considering Oxbow as the favorite before the draw, that status should only be further cemented now. 

No. 1: Frac Daddy

As we saw with Orb's disappointing run to a fourth-place finish at the Preakness, it can be difficult to be locked against the rail.

After winning the Derby, Orb lined up in the first post for the Belmont and couldn't overcome a slow start. He was locked in the traffic of horses moving toward the inside. Well, with five more horses in this field than there were at the Preakness, No. 1 is going to be even more problematic.

Historically, the first post in the Belmont has had more success than any other, with 23 wins. Empire Maker, in 2003, was the last to pull off the feat from No. 1. However, the difficulty of this position can be seen in the fact that it has fielded just three winners since 1974. 

So, anyone considering laying a little money on the 30-1 Frac Daddy may want to place their long-shot hopes elsewhere. 

No. 13: Unlimited Budget

The three favorites for the race are familiar names to those of us who followed the first two legs of the Triple Crown. Right along with Orb and Oxbow in the morning line is Revolutionary—who sat out the Preakness after taking third in the Derby.

Right behind that trio of horses is Unlimited Budget at 8-1. As The Blood-Horse's Esther Marr indicated, this is a bit of a surprise:

This is surprising not only because the horse will be making her first start in a Triple Crown race but also because of the awful post position she will be in. 

No horse outside of the 11th post has ever gone on to win the Belmont. Of course, this is a big field, and there aren't typically more than 11 horses starting this race.

However, the fact remains that jockey Rosie Napravnik and trainer Todd Pletcher would have undoubtedly liked to have seen this horse start a little closer to the inside.