Triple Crown 2015: Belmont Stakes Post Time, Prize Money and More

There's more than just $800,000—the prize money for the winning horse at the Belmont Stakes—up for grabs this Saturday. Indeed, history is on the line as well, as American Pharoah looks to become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Triple Crown. 

Will Pharoah become the 12th horse to accomplish the feat? Or will racing fans once again be left disappointed?

Let's break down all of the crucial race information you need, along with previewing the race.

Date: Saturday, June 6

Post Time: 6:50 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

The Field

Post No.	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Morning-Line Odds
1	Mubtaahij	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	Mike de Kock	10-1
2	Tale of Verve	Gary Stevens	Dallas Stewart	15-1
3	Madefromlucky	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	12-1
4	Frammento	Mike Smith	Nick Zito	30-1
5	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	3-5
6	Frosted	Joel Rosario	Kiaran McLaughlin	5-1
7	Keen Ice	Kent Desormeaux	Dale Romans	20-1
8	Materiality	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	6-1

Preview

Let's be honest—it's all about American Pharoah at the Belmont.

He certainly looks the part of a special horse. Of course, his trainer, Bob Baffert, has been maintaining the horse's talent all along and continued to do so, per Sean Morris of NYRA.com:

"

He's a horse I've never had to talk people into how good he is. I've been wowed by the way he trains all winter and in the spring, and he continues to show his stuff. When I lead him over, I sort of feel like I have an edge, but coming in here and going one-and-a-half miles, it's a completely different story. We don't know how any of them are going to handle it because none of them have been that far. We just hope and dream from here on out.

"

While the smaller—and, many would argue, weak—field doesn't offer many bad post positions, starting at the No. 5 certainly favors American Pharoah. Dan Wolken of USA Today certainly thinks so:

Honestly, is any horse really up for beating Pharoah anyway?

Frosted might have the best shot after finishing fourth at the Derby, though he wasn't exactly close to beating Pharoah in that race. Materiality is another horse that certainly appears to have a shot, though his sixth-place finish at the Derby was disappointing. 

One thing that could hurt Pharoah is that he's the only horse to have run in both the Derby and the Preakness, while six of the eight horses in the field didn't run at Pimlico. In other words, there will be a lot of very fresh horses in New York. 

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

But American Pharoah's run at the Preakness hardly seemed taxing for the horse, as he blew away the field in the sloppy conditions that he favors in the first place. 

The distance at the Belmont doesn't seem to be a major hindrance, either, given the late kick Pharoah showed at the Derby. He may not be able to run away from the field like he did at the Preakness, but he has the talent and natural stride to lead the Belmont wire to wire. 

It's hard to find a truly compelling reason to bet against Pharoah beyond "Well, he might be tired and have a bad race." But nobody in his right mind will suggest that another horse's best performance will triumph Pharoah if he's at his best. 

And that's why the Triple Crown drought almost seems destined to be broken this year.