Belmont Stakes Start Time 2015: NBC TV Schedule, Post Time, Live Stream, Picks

One of the most highly anticipated races of the year, the Belmont Stakes, is finally here. In just a few hours, eight horses will take the track for the 147th time in the race's storied history.

This year, we have the added excitement of a Triple Crown threat, as American Pharoah will look to make history as the first horse in 37 years to capture all three jewels of racing's Triple Crown. Since Affirmed last accomplished the feat in 1978, we've seen 13 separate instances where a runner came into the Belmont after having won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but Pharoah's bid just feels different.

According to Odds Shark, the Bob Baffert-trained colt is a 5-7 favorite to win this year's Belmont Stakes.

As an odds-on favorite, we expect AP to have a strong showing. That said, winning the race won't be easy, as there are several runners who figure to have a major say in the outcome of this year's race.

Before we get there, though, you'll want to take a look through the sections below so you know where and when to tune in so you can catch all the action. After that, be sure to check out the sections that follow for a full listing of this year's runners, along with their connections and current odds.

To wrap things up, I'll give you a look at my picks for who will finish in the money in this year's Belmont. So, without further delay, here's one final primer for the 2015 Belmont Stakes.

Belmont Stakes Day Info

When: Saturday, June 6

Where: Belmont Park in Elmont, New York

First Post: 11:35 a.m. ET

Belmont Post Time: 6:50 p.m. ET

Where to Watch: NBC , NBC Sports Network, NBC Sports Live Extra

TV Schedule: Click Here

Post Positions, Runners and Odds

Post Position	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
1	Mubtaahij	Michael De Kock	Irad Ortiz Jr.	14-1
2	Tale of Verve	Dallas Stewart	Gary Stevens	20-1
3	Madefromlucky	Todd Pletcher	Javier Castellano	14-1
4	Frammento	Nick Zito	Mike Smith	40-1
5	American Pharoah	Bob Baffert	Victor Espinoza	5-7
6	Frosted	Kiaran McLaughlin	Joel Rosario	6-1
7	Keen Ice	Dale Romans	Kent Desormeaux	25-1
8	Materiality	Todd Pletcher	John Velazquez	13-2

Belmont Stakes Picks

I'll give you my top three, in order—American Pharoah, Mubtaahij, Frosted.

If we're being hopeful, the race will finish with American Pharoah on top.

The three-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile is definitely the horse to beat today, but he's going to need everything to work in his favor. Pharoah needs to break well from the gate, have a modest pace set up front and a clear path no more than three wide into the lane.

If he gets all that, he'll win the Belmont.

I said in my last article that Mubtaahij's victory in the UAE Derby is starting to look more and more like an aberration as opposed to a bit of legitimate foreshadowing, but I'll stick with it.

Mubtaahij, a Dubawi colt, should have enough to make the distance.

The international shipper won both the Al Bastakiya and the UAE Derby over 1 3/16-mile distances. Beyond that, the Michael de Kock-trained colt won the UAE Derby (shown below) by open lengths while gearing down across the finish line.

The only question about Mubtaahij is whether he's acclimated himself to the Belmont Park dirt track. If his recent workouts are any indication—he's drilled six times since arriving at Belmont—Mubtaahij should be well prepared to outlast most, if not all of his competition.

His trainer, De Kock, sees the race in a similar fashion, per Keith Sergeant of NJ.com:

"

He's done well. The fact that he's been settled in one place for a few weeks now has made a difference to him. I'm very happy with the way he's going and training. As opposed to the Derby where he had a lot of changes going into the race, everything has been pretty consistent this time, which I think makes a big difference.

"

Mubtaahij has been training well, and being settled in at Belmont should help him quite a bit, but the biggest aid to his Belmont aspirations comes in the form of what we talked about earlier—his ability to get the distance. On that topic, De Kock had this to say, per Sergeant:

"He's by Dubawi and there's a lot of stamina in his family. The way he won the Derby in Dubai I'd be shocked if he didn't get the distance."

Maybe he's not as good as we think he is—that UAE Derby field was pretty weak—but I'm buying for the Belmont.

Finally, we have Frosted rounding out the top three.

Frosted has a pedigree that most other runners would kill for. He comes from a long line of graded-stakes-winning sires, and, on top of that, he's already shown us he can get the distance.

Prior to his respectable fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, Frosted was a winner in the Wood Memorial (shown below).

The three-year-old superstar ran three and four wide all the way around the oddly shaped Belmont Park dirt track and ran nearly two miles as opposed to the 1 1/8-mile billing for the race.

In addition to that, Frosted's running style is well-suited for the Belmont. The Tapit colt likes to stalk the pace and generally keeps the leading group within one or two lengths.

Add in trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who does nothing but finish in the money at Belmont Park—according to Equibase.com, he owns a 61 percent in-the-money percentage at Belmont this spring—and top jockey Joel Rosario, and you've got connections that all but guarantee a top-three finish later today.

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