Belmont Stakes 2015 Post Positions: Final Projections, Odds Payout and Post Info
It's American Pharoah versus the field in the 2015 Belmont Stakes, as the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner aims to notch one more victory in an effort to end the 37-year Triple Crown drought. However, he'll be dealing with fatigue and fresher opposition in a lengthy 1 ½-mile race. Needless to say, winning won't be easy.
Perhaps trainer Bob Baffert put it best during an interview with CBS News, saying, "I know the odds are against us—37 years—there's a reason for that." Still, due to Pharoah's tremendous ability, the trainer remained optimistic, adding, "(Pharoah) is more explosive than my other horses. Every time he runs, he's showing me; he looks like maybe this is the one."
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
This will be Baffert's fourth attempt at a Belmont Stakes victory that would produce a Triple Crown winner. Standing in his way are some very talented horses, including the dangerous Frosted and Todd Pletcher's Materiality. They'll be looking to ensure the Triple Crown drought will last at least one more year.
As we anxiously await the 147th running of the Belmont Stakes to commence, let's take a look at the race's essential viewing information, updated odds, projected payouts and final predictions.
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
Belmont Stakes Posts, Odds and Payouts
| 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 | 33-1 | Mike Smith | $68.00 |
| 5 | American Pharoah | 10-13 | Victor Espinoza | $3.54 |
| 6 | Frosted | 11-2 | Joel Rosario | $13.00 |
| 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.
Belmont Stakes Predictions
| Win | American Pharoah |
| Place | Frosted |
| Show | Madefromlucky |
| Fourth | Materiality |
American Pharoah has yet to give us a reason to bet against him, so why start now?
The colt produced a pair of brilliant showings in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, overcoming strong fields and poor staring positions to notch two victories. During those races, Pharoah's combination of acceleration, stamina and finishing ability were well on display, and those are the exact attributes needed to emerge victorious in the Belmont Stakes.
Sure, fatigue could certainly come into play at Belmont, but according to an interview with Jerry Bossert of the New York Daily News, Baffert appeared very confident in his horse's preparation:
"We're sort of used to running in these big races, so it's not like it's the first time for us. We know that as long as we're prepared and we know what we need to do—that's the whole thing. The only thing that I would get nervous about would be if things aren't going well, but so far everything has been right on schedule. There haven't been any setbacks, no hiccups, so that's the main thing.
"
Adding to the promise that Pharoah will win it all are a couple strokes of luck. The colt drew the favorable No. 5 gate—a position that has produced 13 previous winners, including 1977 Triple Crown champion Seattle Slew—and a pair of late scratches reduced the field to eight horses—no Triple Crown winner has ever defeated more than seven opponents in the Belmont Stakes, according to Keith Sergeant of NJ.com.
After taking all of that information into consideration, the Triple Crown seems inevitable for this talented colt.
Frosted, arguably Pharoah's biggest opposition, is likeliest to notch a runner-up finish. While he isn't a great horse out of the gate, his stamina and closing ability are phenomenal. In fact, he showed all of those attributes during his Kentucky Derby showing.
At Churchill Downs, Frosted was sluggish out of the gate and fell to the rear of the pack. After remaining there for the bulk of the race, he began to charge over the last half mile. He passed some very strong contenders, all the while gaining ground on the leaders, and just ran out of room in the end, finishing fourth.
The additional length of the Belmont Stakes is likely to give Frosted an advantage, as he'll be afforded extra time to make up ground late in the race.
Third place goes to Triple Crown newcomer Madefromlucky. The colt wasn't entered in the Kentucky Derby and went on to win the Peter Pan Stakes on May 9 instead. He skipped the Preakness Stakes and should be very well-rested for his run in the Belmont Stakes. Interestingly enough, that was the exact same path taken by 2014 Belmont winner Tonalist.
Rounding out the superfecta is Materiality. This horse will likely receive plenty of betting action leading up to the race, but there's reason to be wary of this Todd Pletcher-trained colt.
There's a bit of concern over Materiality's ability to stick with the pace at Belmont Park. The reason for that is the colt's sluggish time of one minute, 52.30 seconds in his Florida Derby victory and sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby—he fell well off the pace early and had to make up ground late.
Materiality does have solid stamina due to his distance pedigree, and if he's able to break well—he's at his best when running near the front of the pack—he'll have a strong chance to finish in the money. Although, due to these uncertainties, the prediction here is a fourth-place finish.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
