Belmont Stakes 2016: Top Contenders and Unheralded Horses in Lineup Field

The final jewel of this year's Triple Crown, Saturday's Belmont Stakes, won't be filled with as much drama as it has in years past because for just the second time in five years, there have been separate winners of the Kentucky Derby (Nyquist) and the Preakness Stakes (Exaggerator).

The Triple Crown's longest race looks like it might have the smallest field of the three races, as only 10 horses are listed as contenders for New York's 1 ½-mile trek.

Here's a look at the field and the current odds, courtesy of Odds Shark:

Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
Brody's Cause	Luis Saez	Dale Romans	12-1
Cherry Wine	Corey J. Lanerie	Dale Romans	15-2
Creator	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Steve Asmussen	20-1
Destin	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	10-1
Exaggerator	Kent Desormeaux	Keith Desormeaux	11-10
Governor Malibu	Joel Rosario	Christophe Clement	N/A
Lani	Yutaka Take	Mikio Matsunaga	12-1
Stradivari	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	15-2
Suddenbreakingnews	Mike Smith	Donnie Von Hemel	13-2
Trojan Nation	Aaron Gryder	Patrick Gallagher	N/A

Top Contenders

Exaggerator

The Preakness winner is the big favorite heading into the Belmont Stakes, especially because Nyquist won't be in the field.

After his performance at Pimlico Race Course, it's easy to see why. Exaggerator kept up with one of the most promising thoroughbreds that racing has seen and overpowered Nyquist down the stretch. 

Two things could play into Exaggerator's favor on Saturday. Weather.com reported that Saturday's forecast will have a chance of rain, which means a sloppy track could await the contenders. Exaggerator proved at the Preakness that he is a top rain horse and can navigate a messy track. 

The length of the race also plays into the late charger's favor. Exaggerator won't take the lead out of the gate, but if he's near the leaders in the final furlongs, he's going to kick into another gear on the homestretch.

Destin

Destin runs similarly to Exaggerator, given his ability to reach a quicker pace as the race comes down to the wire. That could be a reason why he is the race's second favorite even though he hasn't won since March's Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby.

But in that race, he demonstrated what could make him a dangerous threat at Belmont:

If he's able to get to the outside and stay with Exaggerator, Destin could make a push for a win at Belmont.

Unheralded Horses

Governor Malibu

Governor Malibu will be making his Triple Crown debut in his home state on Saturday, and given his career numbers, he could have a strong showing.

In each of his seven previous races, Governor Malibu has finished in the top three, including a win at the Gander Stakes:

He also has strong Belmont Stakes roots, as he's the grandson of 1992 winner A.P. Indy, is trained by Christophe Clement and is jockeyed by Joel Rosario, who won in 2014 with Tonalist. 

Creator

After a disastrous Kentucky Derby in which he finished 13th, Creator will re-enter the Triple Crown conversation after sitting out for the Preakness. 

While he hasn't garnered much attention, Belmont could be the perfect track for him to announce his return to the big stage.

He put on a great performance at the Arkansas Derby just weeks before the Kentucky Derby:

Given the length of the Belmont Stakes, Creator could run an almost identical race and be among the few making a late charge toward the front. 

It's imperative, though, that he doesn't fall too far back, because he may not be able to catch the strong last-furlong horses in the field.

Stats courtesy of Equibase.com.