Belmont Stakes Odds 2015: Latest Vegas Betting Lines Before Post Positions Draw

Just one race across one-and-a-half miles of (potentially) muddy Belmont Park track separates thoroughbred horse American Pharoah from a Triple Crown and status as an American hero.

The 2015 Belmont Stakes, set for Saturday in Elmont, New York, is all that's left for this brilliant horse. Wins at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes mean all eyes will be on American Pharoah when he enters the starting gate for his fateful run.

American Pharoah is looking to become just the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown and the first since Affirmed pulled off the feat in 1978.

It's also of little surprise that this Bob Baffert-trained steed is the favorite in an eight-horse field. While we don't yet know the post positions for the Belmont Stakes, we can see what the prognosticators in Las Vegas think of those trying to knock the Triple Crown out of American Pharoah's reach.

Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	4-5
Frosted	Joel Rosario	Kiaran McLaughlin	5-1
Materiality	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	13-2
Madefromlucky	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	12-1
Mubtaahij	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Michael De Kock	16-1
Tale of Verve	Gary Stevens	Dallas Stewart	20-1
Keen Ice	Kent Desormeaux	Dale Romans	25-1
Frammento	Mike Smith	Nick Zito	33-1

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of June 3 at 5 a.m. ET.

No matter what post American Pharoah draws on Wednesday, it would seem impossible to knock him off his pedestal as the odds-on favorite going into Saturday with just an eight-horse field.

The Belmont Stakes is the longest of the Triple Crown races, and American Pharoah displayed excellent stamina in powerful stretch runs at the Derby and the Preakness.

“One thing about the horse, we know what to expect,” Baffert said on Monday, per CBS New York. “We’re not going to be overwhelmed by it because we’re used to the big show.”

As for horses bred for this distance, Daily Racing Form's Joe Nevills notes Keen Ice looks to be the best in the field and a legitimate spoiler threat based on his sire's average winning distance:

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Keen Ice, owned by Donegal Racing and bred in Kentucky by Glencrest Farm, boasted the best score when the AWD rankings of his sire and dam were combined, and he was the only horse in the field in which both sides ranked third or better.

His sire, two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, established his distance credentials early at stud, siring Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice in his first crop and Preakness Stakes runner-up Ride On Curlin with his next group of foals. Curlin’s AWD of 7.57 furlongs ranked him second among the eight Belmont sires.

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BloodHorse.com's Steve Haskin likes what he has seen in training:

Keen Ice, like Materiality, Mubtaahij, Frammento and Frosted, ran in the Kentucky Derby but skipped the Preakness. Here's how they finished in Louisville:

Place	Horse
4	Frosted
6	Materiality
7	Keen Ice
8	Mubtaahij
11	Frammento

While the Derby run and pedigree bode well for Keen Ice at Belmont Park, his own race record suggests he's more of an also-ran than anything. In eight career runs, Keen Ice has finished in the top three just three times, and the colt's last win came at a maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs in September 2014. That's the likely explanation for his long odds.

Tale of Verve is the only other holdover from the Preakness besides American Pharoah. The colt finished a surprising second at the Preakness, despite the likes of AP, Firing Line and Dortmund getting much of the pre-race attention after finishing 1-2-3 respectively at the Kentucky Derby.

With 20-1 odds, Tale of Verve isn't getting much love from Vegas, but he could once again upend the betting structure.

This leaves Madefromlucky as the only Triple Crown new shooter. The Baltimore Sun's Childs Walker notes he could snatch history from American Pharoah much like new shooter Tonalist did last year in ruining California Chrome's Triple Crown bid:

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But a similar storyline is possible given the presence of the Pletcher-trained Madefromlucky. Just like Tonalist, he skipped the Derby and Preakness and instead won the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park.

Pletcher has said Madefromlucky is well equipped to handle the distance, though American Pharoah beat him soundly in Arkansas.

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With American Pharoah's versatility and stamina, it will take a mammoth effort from one of the other horses in this race to upset him. The post positions draw will sort out many of the remaining questions, of which American Pharoah is the likely answer.

Fatigue could be an issue for American Pharoah, and Madefromlucky could prove to be yet another ready-made villain if he were to pull off an upset, but things are shaping up for this to be an especially historic Saturday in Elmont.