Belmont Stakes 2015 Post Positions: Complete Listing for Every Horse

Post positions for the 147th Belmont Stakes were announced Wednesday. Headlining the field of eight is prohibitive 3-5 morning-line favorite and Triple Crown hopeful American Pharoah, who will start from post No. 5 at Belmont Park in Saturday's race.

The top perceived threat to upend American Pharoah's Triple Crown bid in Elmont, New York, is Frosted, who sits at 5-1 at the morning line and will line up in the sixth post.

Check out the complete post positions below:

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

American Pharoah is going to be the near-unanimous pick to claim victory. It stems from the optimism the supreme horse has inspired as potentially the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Many are hoping American Pharoah can get the job done.

There are only seven other competitors running against him, too—not to mention a jockey-trainer combination of Victor Espinoza and Bob Baffert on his side. Espinoza and Baffert have accomplished tons in their respective careers but could well add a feather to their caps that no one in this generation can boast of.

The fifth post seems like a nice spot for American Pharoah to be. A smaller field and ability to maneuver inside and out will alleviate potential traffic issues in the early going.

Baffert seemed pleased upon learning of American Pharoah's fate, per ESPN.com's Lane Gold:

HRTV had more from Baffert and Espinoza, who appear to be rather confident in their chances:

Belmont Park presents a formidable challenge, though. The 1 ½-mile dirt track is a big reason the race is appropriately named "The Test of the Champion." None of these horses have ever run so far in competition, and the jockeys have to guide them right with so much at stake.

None of the seven foes trying to play spoiler to American Pharoah have run in both of the first two Triple Crown legs. This tends to happen and is a source of controversy.

Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde had an encouraging report from Churchill Downs in observing the reaction to American Pharoah's recent work:

Rival trainer Todd Pletcher praised Baffert's job in preparing American Pharoah and raises a fair point about the latter's athleticism.

"In American Pharoah's case, because he's so good in the slop, it's possible the Preakness wasn't even very taxing for him. And Bob has done an incredible job training the horse," said Pletcher, per SI.com's Tim Layden.

The Preakness was indeed a seven-length romp for American Pharoah in the pouring rain at Pimlico. Adverse conditions also had to have prepared him well for what he'll face at Belmont Park, where even a pristine course will take immense physicality and stamina to conquer.

Rob Carr/Getty Images

A long, 37-year wait precedes American Pharoah's Triple Crown bid. California Chrome had Espinoza in the irons a year ago as a grand hope to break the drought of horse racing's most prestigious achievement, but he finished fourth at Belmont Park.

If American Pharoah is able to pull off a triumph in Elmont, he will have defeated an unprecedented number of adversaries to achieve the Triple Crown. Although he may not be as pure of a talent as a specimen like Secretariat, American Pharoah can still carve out his own unique legacy in the modern era.

Someone is due to join an exclusive Triple Crown club that's been stuck on 11 members for decades and seen a whopping 13 Kentucky Derby and Preakness doubles in the interim. American Pharoah has the goods and connections to do it.