Belmont Stakes 2015: Prize Money Purse, Post Time, Vegas Odds Payouts and More
The 2015 Belmont Stakes is just one day away, and American Pharoah's bid to become the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years is the lead narrative.
Pharoah was brilliant in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, outlasting strong fields and overcoming poor starting positions to win both races. The colt's stamina appears to be second to none, and that will be a major factor in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes.
With a favorable post position in gate No. 5—a location that has yielded 13 previous winners, including 1977 Triple Crown champion Seattle Slew—Pharoah appears poised to capture horse racing's most coveted feat. However, fatigue from running three races over a span of five weeks and a field of fresh-legged contenders remain two big obstacles to overcome.
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As we anxiously await the Belmont Stakes to commence, let's take a look at all of its essential viewing information, odds for each contender, expected payouts and a race preview.
2015 Belmont Stakes Viewing Info
Date: Saturday, June 6
Where: Belmont Park in Elmont, New York
TV Time: 4:30-7 p.m. ET, NBC
Post Time: 6:50 p.m. ET
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra
Mobile Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra
Purse Breakdown
| 1 | $800,000 |
| 2 | $280,000 |
| 3 | $150,000 |
| 4 | $100,000 |
| 5 | $60,000 |
| 6 | $45,000 |
| 7 | $35,000 |
| 8 | $30,000 |
All payout information provided by NYRA.com.
Contenders and Odds Info
| 1 | Mubtaahij | 14-1 | Irad Ortiz Jr. | $30.00 |
| 2 | Tale of Verve | 20-1 | Gary Stevens | $42.00 |
| 3 | Madefromlucky | 14-1 | Javier Castellano | $30.00 |
| 4 | Frammento | 40-1 | Mike Smith | $82.00 |
| 5 | American Pharoah | 5-7 | Victor Espinoza | $3.43 |
| 6 | Frosted | 6-1 | Joel Rosario | $14.00 |
| 7 | Keen Ice | 25-1 | Kent Desormeaux | $52.00 |
| 8 | Materiality | 13-2 | John R. Velasquez | $15.00 |
All Belmont Stakes odds courtesy of Odds Shark.
Race Preview
American Pharoah's trainer, Bob Baffert, knows exactly how difficult it is to win the Triple Crown. He's previously had three horses in this exact situation and came away empty-handed on each occasion. During an interview with CBS News, he simply said, "I know the odds are against us—37 years—there's a reason for that."
Although, there's no discounting Pharoah's ability, and during that same interview, Baffert remained optimistic, "(Pharoah) is more explosive than my other horses. Every time he runs, he's showing me; he looks like maybe this is the one."
We've seen the talented colt show his impressive combination of acceleration, stamina and closing ability in each of the first two jewels of the Triple Crown.
In the Kentucky Derby, he began from well outside, and after exerting energy to accelerate to just behind the leaders, he was still forced to run three-wide off the rail to maintain that position. After running all of that additional distance, Pharoah somehow salvaged enough stamina to make a brilliant late run, surge to the front of the pack and hold off the hard-charging Firing Line.
The colt faced a different hurdle in the Preakness Stakes. He drew the ominous No. 1 gate—a starting position that had previously yielded just one winner since 1961—and needed to accelerate quickly down the opening stretch to avoid getting caught in traffic. After that early burst, Pharoah's stamina came through again, as he held the lead position throughout the race and pulled away in the end, winning by seven lengths.
Fatigue is generally an issue in the Belmont Stakes for Triple Crown hopefuls, but Pharoah almost appeared content to continue running after crossing the finish line at Pimlico. If that assessment is correct, we could see our first Triple Crown horse since 1978 on Saturday.
Standing in Pharoah's way is Frosted. The Kentucky Derby's fourth-place finisher has flashed an impressive ability to close in previous races, and his run at Churchill Downs was no exception.
After breaking slowly, Frosted was immediately caught up in traffic and drifted to the rear of the pack. He remained in that position for the bulk of the race, until jockey Joel Rosario asked him to run with a half-mile remaining. The colt complied and blazed past the bulk of the field, continuing to pick up steam all the way through the finish.
Based on Frosted's tremendous late run in the Kentucky Derby, we can speculate that if he would have been in a better position early, he would have been a major factor down the final stretch. There's a chance we see that happen at Belmont Park.
Todd Pletcher's Materiality didn't have a strong showing in the Kentucky Derby, missing the break and finding himself losing momentum in traffic early. He rallied toward the end, but a sixth-place finish was all he could muster.
Still, the colt has impressed this year, winning the Florida Derby over Upstart, and he's proved he has the endurance to be a threat down the final stretch when he remains close to the lead pack. If he's able to find a way out front in the Belmont, he could give Pharoah a run for his money.
One sleeper to keep an eye on in this year's race is Madefromlucky. This will be the colt's first attempt in a Triple Crown race. He won the Peter Pan Stakes on May 9 and opted to skip the Preakness Stakes thereafter, focusing on the Belmont Stakes instead. Interestingly enough, that was the same strategy employed by last year's Belmont winner, Tonalist.
While Madefromlucky isn't the strongest or most talented horse in this year's field, he has fresh legs and hasn't participated in any grueling, stamina-draining Triple Crown races. That could be just enough for this long shot to provide quite a shock on race day.
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