Belmont Stakes 2013 Horses: Post Positions and Updated Odds Following Draw

It will be very difficult for Orb and Oxbow to win their second Triple Crown races of the year at Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, and Wednesday’s post positions draw and morning lines announcement confirmed what many were already thinking.

Orb, the Kentucky Derby winner, will have the fifth post and the best odds to win the Belmont Stakes. On the other hand, Oxbow, the Preakness champion, has the seventh post and the second-best odds, according to Nailah E. Timberlake of the New York Racing Association:

Orb and Oxbow don’t have poor chances at winning it all based on prior Belmont Stakes winners. The horse from the fifth post has won 13 times while the horse from the seventh post has won 11 times. Those results are tied for the second and fourth most, respectively, according to Belmont-Stakes.info.

The horse in the inside post has won the most times, totaling 23 victories. Frac Daddy will be the horse in the No. 1 post this year at the Belmont Stakes. However, with 30-1 odds, it seems unlikely that he’ll be the 24th to cross the finish line before any other horse from that position.

Below is all of the information you’ll need leading up to the 145th running of the Belmont Stakes, including full positions and morning lines, the biggest storyline to watch and a full race prediction.

Where: Belmont Park, Elmont, NY

When: Saturday, June 8, 2013

Post Time: 6:20 p.m. ET

Pursue: $1 million

Watch: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports

2013 Belmont Stakes Post Positions and Latest Odds

*Post positions and morning lines were obtained 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

Storyline to Watch: The Rubber Match

Orb and Oxbow have developed a bit of a rivalry this past year, each winning one of the first two legs of the Triple Crown. While neither will be able to capture the Triple Crown—which has only been done 11 times ever—many will be looking to see if either can be victorious at the Belmont Stakes.

Orb won the Kentucky Derby despite starting in the 16th post while Oxbow was a couple of horses behind, finishing sixth overall—he started in the second post. Oxbow, however, got his revenge at the Preakness, winning it all while Orb finished fourth.

Here’s what Orb’s trainer, Shug McGaughey, said about the Preakness and what to expect at the upcoming Belmont Stakes, per Jerry Bossert of the New York Daily News:

"

“In the Preakness nothing went right,” the trainer said. “The one post—I really thought there would be more speed in the race and spread out to get good position. That didn’t happen. I’m sure when the other riders had him down inside they weren’t going to let him out especially as slow as they were going and I think the racetrack was different. It was very loose. It just wasn’t our day. I think if things go right on Saturday we’ll see a different hose than we saw two weeks ago.”

"

The Belmont Stakes should tell us a lot about Orb, writes Bob Ehalt of ESPN. Ehalt says that “the Belmont will cement [Orb’s] place in Triple Crown lore, for better or worse.”

If Orb wins, all is well and he should be remembered as a horse that just missed winning the Triple Crown. If not, he’ll be another flop that won the Kentucky Derby, but didn’t do much afterward.

In terms of Oxbow, he has the opportunity to prove that he’s the best three-year-old, better than Orb. But that’s only going to happen with a victory—or place/show while Orb finishes outside of the top 10. Oxbow has the second-best odds to win the race aside from Orb and I’m sure he’ll do everything in his power to take down the Kentucky Derby champion twice in a row.

Belmont Stakes Prediction

The morning lines say a lot about which horses are the true contenders and which are the pretenders. While the Belmont Stakes—and every horse—is basically unpredictable, there won’t be big upsets this year. Midnight Taboo, Giant Finish and Frac Daddy aren’t going to win, as each have 30-1 odds currently.

The Belmont Stakes is going to come down to five horses: Orb, Oxbow, Revolutionary, Unlimited Budge and Freedom Child. One of those five is going to win, another is going to place and another is going to show. The other two will finish fourth and fifth. Again, no surprises. But in what order will they finish?

While Orb and Oxbow are the two horses to beat at the Belmont Stakes, I still like their chances to finish 1-2, 2-1 or however you’d like to look at it. They’re clearly the two best in the race and despite their moderate pole positions, they’re going to be just fine.

So that leaves Revolutionary, Unlimited Budget and Freedom Child to finish 3-4-5. Unlimited Budget is one of the more intriguing stories at the Belmont Stakes and I like her chances to finish in the top three. Her current odds of 8-1 show that the lone filly in the race is expected to compete with the best males.

Nothing against Revolutionary or Freedom Child, but it’ll be Unlimited Budget that finishes right behind the two favorites.

Win: Oxbow

Place: Orb

Show: Unlimited Budget