Belmont Stakes 2015 Post Time: TV Schedule, Weather Forecast for 147th Race

American Pharoah may be two-thirds of the way to a Triple Crown, but his biggest hurdle awaits in the form of the Belmont Stakes.

Since Affirmed last captured the Triple Crown in 1978, a baker's dozen of horses have won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes before faltering at Belmont. California Chrome is the most recent case, with the colt watching on as Tonalist took home the 2014 Belmont Stakes.

Horse racing fans are desperate to see another Triple Crown winner, and we're only hours away from seeing whether Pharoah will fulfill their wishes.

Time (ET)		TV Info	Live Stream
2:30-4:30 p.m.	Pre-Race Coverage	NBCSN	NBC Sports Live Extra
4:30-7 p.m. (Post Time: 6:50 p.m.)	147th Belmont Stakes	NBC	NBC Sports Live Extra
7-7:30 p.m.	Post-Race Coverage	NBCSN	NBC Sports Live Extra

Weather Forecast

The conditions for the Preakness Stakes were less than optimal. Mother Nature waited until just about when the horses began entering the gates before she hammered the Pimlico Race Course with heavy showers. Of course, it didn't stop American Pharoah, who won the Preakness more handily than he did the Kentucky Derby.

Luckily, the weather for the Belmont Stakes is shaping up to be a little more favorable. According to AccuWeather.com, the weekend forecast calls for a high of 76 degrees and little chance of rain.

Into the afternoon and evening, temperatures could hover between the high 60s and low-to-mid-70s. The evening has a 10 percent chance for rain. The threat is there, albeit only slightly.

Preview

Looking ahead to the Belmont Stakes, you have to ask yourself this question: What makes American Pharoah different than the 13 horses who won the first two legs of the Triple Crown before falling at Belmont?

There's no question that he is a talented horse. He won the Preakness, Arkansas Derby and Rebel Stakes with relative ease, while his Kentucky Derby win proved that a close, competitive race doesn't faze him.

The three-year-old has the speed and more importantly the stamina to handle the 1 ½-mile distance of Belmont Park.

As Sports Illustrated's Tim Layden quipped, though, all of those wins and any great practice run American Pharoah might have won't convince the race organizers to go ahead and give him the Belmont Stakes title ahead of time:

With Carpe Diem out of the running, the field is shaping up well for American Pharoah, at least in terms of size. ESPN researcher Chris Fallica noted that anything larger than an eight-horse field would have spelled serious trouble for the colt:

Trainer Bob Baffert has missed out on the Triple Crown at Belmont on three occasions. That previous disappointment isn't evident in his pre-race mindset.

"It's a different vibe for me this time," he said, per David Wharton of the Los Angeles Times. "I'm really enjoying it. I'm prepared to lose."

Still, Materiality and Frosted will be tough horses to beat. They didn't run in the Preakness Stakes, so they'll be extra fresh for Saturday's race.

If you race American Pharoah, Materiality and Frosted all with proper rest, then Pharoah probably wins more times than not. But three races in a little over a month is a lot to ask of a horse, and he might not have the energy to hold off fresher challengers.

Another topic worth discussing is whether the Triple Crown will actually carry any significance in the long term.

Might it actually be detrimental to the sport to have a horse finally achieve the seemingly impossible task?

In theory, it would probably be harder to drive fan interest in a potential Triple Crown next year if American Pharoah just won it in the previous season.

USA Today's Dan Wolken didn't go so far as to say that American Pharoah winning would harm horse racing, but he did argue against it having any sort of positive impact for years to come:

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For all the talk about how horse racing needs to see this mystical achievement fulfilled, for all the concerns about racetracks closing while casinos sprout up, for all the lament about being two generations removed from a time when horse racing was considered a major mainstream sport, the actual impact of American Pharoah winning isn't likely to amount to much beyond a short-term media pop.

"People ask me, if American Pharoah wins, is it going to give racing a jolt in the arm? I'm not too sure," said New York-based trainer Nick Zito, whose 2004 Belmont victory with Birdstone crushed the Triple Crown dreams of Smarty Jones. "I think racing, the game, it's stable, it's solid. The sales are up. The business is solid. But racing used to be a fan-based sport. Now, with all the electronics and the gadgets people got today, it takes a Triple Crown for people to come to the track."

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Maybe one day we'll all tell our children and grandchildren where we were when American Pharoah won the Triple Crown. More likely, though, the moment will be rather fleeting for horse racing, as sports fans move on to whatever else catches their fancy.

Of course, the odds are against us ever reaching that moment. Recent history says American Pharoah is in serious trouble Saturday, as the long distance of the Belmont Stakes coupled with a thin but talented field may spell doom.