Belmont Stakes 2015: Latest Weather Forecast, Post Time, Odds, Field Predictions

Race day at the 2015 Belmont Stakes has finally arrived, and the nearly dozen races set to unfold across the afternoon at Belmont Park will only be appetizers for a main course that folks have waited 37 years for.

Alas, there's no way of knowing for sure entering Saturday whether American Pharoah has what it takes to do what 13 horses have failed to accomplish since 1978—win the first two legs of the Triple Crown, then triumph at the treacherous Belmont. History suggests another letdown is in order, but only one horse can change that over the span of 12 furlongs.

With no time to waste, let's break down the forecast, odds, race time and everything else to know.

2015 Belmont Stakes

Date: Saturday, June 6

Post Time (ET): 6:50 p.m.

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Post	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
1	Mubtaahij	Mike 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	33-1
5	American Pharoah	Bob Baffert	Victor Espinoza	10-13
6	Frosted	Kiaran McLaughlin	Joel Rosario	11-2
7	Keen Ice	Dale Romans	Kent Desormeaux	25-1
8	Materiality	Todd Pletcher	John Velazquez	13-2

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Forecast

After last-minute thunderstorms soaked the Preakness Stakes and forced a muddy race amid a downpour, American Pharoah looks like he'll avoid such troubles Saturday—not that it stopped him at Pimlico.

According to Weather.com, the forecast in Elmont, New York, for race day should avoid rain altogether. A 20 percent chance of precipitation pops up starting at 6 p.m., but most signs point to a dry afternoon.

With temperatures around 70 degrees all afternoon and winds not surpassing 12 mph, it should be a cloudy-yet-ideal day for the 147th running of the Belmont Stakes. 

Win-Place-Show Predictions

Pos	Horse
Win	American Pharoah
Place	Frosted
Show	Keen Ice

There are plenty more reasons to not pick American Pharoah to win the Triple Crown than there are to pick him, and virtually all of them are rooted in history. Needless to say, none of that will matter when he steps into the No. 5 post and gets ready to run.

What will matter, though, is how American Pharoah has been running in any sort of race without missing a beat, competing comfortably and proving without a doubt down the stretch that he's the supreme horse in the field.

Garry Jones/Associated Press

Of course, horses have proved this before only to fall flat to the extra rigors of a 1 ½-mile track and the many contending horses that skipped the Preakness. 

Horse racing sees horses on the cusp of history quite often—two in the last three years, to be exact. But this one has seemed to make a different impression, a lasting one, as Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports observed:

Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated's Tim Layden wondered aloud whether the race should even take place:

The extra distance shouldn't be too alarming for those banking on AP to get it done. He scoffed at the Preakness' 9 ½ furlongs, winning by a convincing seven lengths. That came on two weeks' rest, and he showed no signs of allowing anyone else in the race.

The 2 ½ extra furlongs on the notoriously sluggish Belmont track will be difficult, as told by history. But American Pharoah boasts a combination of stamina, speed and versatility that has rarely been seen in the sport and materializes perfectly to a Triple Crown bid.

In the race for second place, Frosted will make good of his post position alongside AP and push him throughout the 12 furlongs in the only serious challenge. 

Frosted finished fourth at the Derby and would have easily nabbed a top-three finish had he not stumbled out of the gates. After skipping the Preakness, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is eyeing a repeat of history from 2006, which saw him win the Belmont in an almost identical scenario, told by Chris Fallica:

Should fatigue and other factors eventually do American Pharoah in, Frosted should be there, closing hard just as he did at Churchill Downs. It will take a slip-up from the favorite to get Frosted into the winner's circle, though, so don't expect it.

The trifecta will round out with a surprise pick in Keen Ice. He closed remarkably well to a seventh-place finish at Churchill Downs after a ton of early traffic doomed his race, leading to believe that the extra distance will benefit him.

Trainer Dale Romans left no doubt of his horse's abilities, per Ryan Martin of Churchill Downs:

Those with the potential to sneak into the top three—or even win, if AP doesn't perform at his usual level—are littered all across the eight-horse field, as you can make a case for almost any of them. It's a small yet talented field, but none of them have quite been able to match up to American Pharoah.

History tells us to temper our expectations for Saturday's Triple Crown bid, but every time American Pharoah has stepped onto the track, he's given every indication that he can't be beaten. If the Triple Crown test eventually does him in like it has so many others, it will say more about the impossible nature of the feat than it will about American Pharoah's ability.