Belmont Stakes 2014 Post Positions: Odds, Field Outlook for Undercard and Stakes
On Saturday, Belmont Park offers up an unprecedented $8 million in purses across 13 races and 10 stakes runs. This dovetails with Belmont Stakes favorite California Chrome’s shot at winning the first Triple Crown since 1978, to make for horse racing's most important day in recent memory.
Four of the day’s races have more than $1 million at stake, and four others offer up at least $500,000 as the purse. While casual fans will be drawn to the Belmont Stakes, posting at 6:52 p.m. ET, plenty more action will precede the day’s 11th race.
Below is the full breakdown of the odds and favorites for the day's marquee event, plus the complete schedule and lineups for Saturday's races with several notable highlights and one record-setting trainer.
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| 1 | 11:35 a.m. | $96,000 | |
| 2 | Easy Goes | 12:07 p.m. | $150,000 |
| 3 | Brooklyn Invitational | 12:40 p.m. | $500,000 |
| 4 | Jaipur Invitational | 1:16 p.m. | $300,000 |
| 5 | Woody Stephens | 1:54 p.m. | $500,000 |
| 6 | TVG Acorn | 2:32 p.m. | $750,000 |
| 7 | Ogden Phipps | 3:14 p.m. | $1 million |
| 8 | Longines Just a Game | 4:00 p.m. | $750,000 |
| 9 | Metropolitan | 4:48 p.m. | $1.25 million |
| 10 | Knob Creek Manhattan | 5:42 p.m. | $1 million |
| 11 | Belmont Stakes | 6:52 p.m. | $1.5 million |
| 12 | 7:40 p.m. | $102,000 | |
| 13 | 8:12 p.m. | $102,000 |
(Undercard lineups listed by New York Racing Association at NYRA.com)
For those who don't know a colt from a filly or their trotters from their Twitter, the running of the Belmont Stakes serves as the day's alpha and omega. California Chrome will be seeking to secure horse racing's first Triple Crown since Affirmed accomplished the feat 36 years ago, but a slim field of 10 other horses will try to thwart him.
With post positions decided, only a few favorites stand out from the pack along with ballyhooed California Chrome.
| 1 | Medal Count | Dale Romans | Robby Albarado | 20-1 |
| 2 | California Chrome | Art Sherman | Victor Espinoza | 3-5 |
| 3 | Matterhorn | Todd Pletcher | Joe Bravo | 30-1 |
| 4 | Commanding Curve | Dallas Stewart | Shaun Bridgmohan | 15-1 |
| 5 | Ride On Curlin | Billy Gowan | John Velazquez | 12-1 |
| 6 | Matuszak | Bill Mott | Mike Smith | 30-1 |
| 7 | Samraat | Rick Violette | Jose Ortiz | 20-1 |
| 8 | Commissioner | Todd Pletcher | Javier Castellano | 20-1 |
| 9 | Wicked Strong | Jimmy Jerkins | Rajiv Maragh | 6-1 |
| 10 | General A Rod | Mike Maker | Rosie Napravnik | 20-1 |
| 11 | Tonalist | Christophe Clement | Joel Rosario | 8-1 |
Belmont Stakes Favorites
A mere one-and-a-half miles lie between jockey Victor Espinoza and ultimate glory, but he must will a possibly weary California Chrome to a third victory in five weeks and do so on the Triple Crown's longest track. Despite being heavily favored at 3-5, a variety of factors impact those chances.
Despite a convincing victory over a middling field at the Kentucky Derby, California Chrome finished with a very slow time, despite running on a fast track unencumbered by mud.
Following a rigorous race schedule, matched by a trying travel schedule, the horse will also battle the misfortune of a No. 2 post position starting close to the rail. If penned in, the favorite could fall back in the pack and lose steam needed for the crucial push at the end of the long track. Tabasco Cat won from the No. 2 post in 1994, the last horse to do so at the Belmont Stakes.
Moreover, some of California Chrome's best competition enters Saturday's race with ample rest.
Wicked Strong owns the second-best odds for victory at 6-1, and after a fourth-place finish at the Kentucky Derby, trainer Jimmy Jerkens has Wicked Strong preparing specifically for a late push on the 1.5-mile track, per Bloodhorse.com's Frank Angst: "We wanted to keep him on the training track to prevent him from going too fast. We wanted to keep that two-turn kind of a mind frame going into the Belmont, try to increase our chances of him settling early in the race and saving something for the end."
Wicked Strong skipped the Preakness and will be well rested. The same can be said for Commanding Curve, who placed second at the Derby, though he will go off at 15-1 odds.
Tonalist did not race in either of this year's Triple Crown events, but he did win the Grade 2 Peter Pan in early May and rides in with a wave of momentum at his back. Working against Tonalist is his far outside No. 11 post draw.
However, for all the talk about horses being rested, Ride on Curlin could actually pose the most significant threat to California Chrome's Triple Crown hopes after placing second in the Preakness. He did not race in the Derby, but Ride on Curlin finished 1.5 lengths behind California Chrome, while no other horse came within eight lengths of him.
Despite entering as the clear favorite to make history amid a small field, California Chrome will face a host of stout competition primarily from Wicked Strong, Ride on Curlin and Tonalist.
Undercard Highlights
Legendary trainer Todd Pletcher recently set the mark for the most money ever earned by a trainer, totaling a whopping $268.5 million and passing D. Wayne Lukas.
The key to that staggering total comes with his diverse portfolio of trainees. Pletcher will run Commissioner and Matterhorn in the Belmont Stakes, but he also has an entrant in each of the other races, giving him an excellent chance to increase his already impressive career haul as trainer.
Pletcher will run the red-hot Palace Malice in the Metropolitan Handicap, known as the "Met Mile," with $1.25 million at stake. After the main event, that marks the largest purse of the day, and Palace Malice has already won three events this year.
However, the race favorite drew the unfortunate post position of No. 1 and risks getting crowded to the rail. That draw opens a great opportunity for Normandy Invasion and Bob Baffert's Shakin It Up to claim the massive purse.
The $1 million Knob Creek Manhattan Stakes will see Imaging try to justify his status as favorite against Seek Again, Grandeur and Real Solution. At 8-1, Pletcher's Boisterous faces considerable competition.
The $1 million Ogden Phipps Stakes features Beholder trying to hold off Close Hatches and Pletcher's Princess of Sylmar in what amounts to a three-horse race for a six-horse field.
Even without little more than a pair of long shots running in the day's main event, Pletcher stands to add to his considerable career winnings, thanks to a deep stable of competitors racing on the richest day in Belmont Park history.
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