Belmont Stakes Picks 2016: Vegas Odds and Predictions Heading into Post Draw

While any Triple Crown race brings some of the most exciting moments in all of sports, there will be something missing from this Saturday's Belmont Stakes due to the fact that there will be no Triple Crown pursuit. 

Nyquist's dreams of joining elite company were dashed in the Preakness Stakes when Exaggerator won the second jewel at Pimlico. 

The Kentucky Derby winner won't be in the Belmont Stakes field on Saturday, but Exaggerator will as we take a look at the field, Las Vegas odds courtesy of Odds Shark and predictions heading into Wednesday's post draw:

Horse	Trainer	Jockey	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

Predictions

Exaggerator wins Belmont Stakes

I chalked Exaggerator down as the Belmont Stakes winner right after Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby. While it was an impressive performance from the winner at Churchill Downs, Exaggerator showed me why he would win Belmont with his final surge, although it came up just short:

It was that performance that made some horse racing experts sit up and take notice that he could be a threat at the Preakness. Had Exaggerator been given an extra furlong or two, he would have caught Nyquist. 

Mother Nature played right into Exaggerator's hand, or hoof, at Pimlico when the heavens opened up and made the track a sloppy one. As one of the best rain horses, he stayed near the front of the pack instead of falling back like he did at Churchill Downs. 

That opened the opportunity to turn on the jets and run away with the Preakness:

While it isn't expected to rain, the distance of the Belmont Stakes will play into Exaggerator's favor. 

This is the longest leg of the Triple Crown at 1 ½ miles, which will provide plenty of time for the horse to work his way through the field and make that familiar final surge.