Belmont Stakes 2016: Prize Money Purse, Post Time, Vegas Odds, Payouts and More
The winner of the 148th Belmont Stakes will pocket an $800,000 purse at Elmont, New York, on Saturday. Predicting where that payout will go is tricky business, though.
It's not easy choosing an obvious winner from a 13-horse field without much speed. Granted, there's still Exaggerator—the Preakness winner and obvious favourite.
After that, though, a dense crowd could produce a winner. Among them, Todd Pletcher-trained duo Destin and Stradivari are joined by Suddenbreakingnews, Cherry Wine and Brody's Cause as horses to watch at Belmont Park.
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Here are the post positions, along with the latest odds, per Odds Shark:
| Post | Horse | Odds |
| 1 | Governor Malibu | 14-1 |
| 2 | Destin | 9-1 |
| 3 | Cherry Wine | 8-1 |
| 4 | Suddenbreakingnews | 7-1 |
| 5 | Stradivari | 7-1 |
| 6 | Gettysburg | 40-1 |
| 7 | Seeking the Soul | 40-1 |
| 8 | Forever d'Oro | 40-1 |
| 9 | Torjan Nation | 40-1 |
| 10 | Lani | 16-1 |
| 11 | Exaggerator | 5-4 |
| 12 | Brody's Cause | 14-1 |
| 13 | Creator | 16-1 |
Here's the payout breakdown:
| Place | Earnings |
| 1 | $800,000 |
| 2 | $280,000 |
| 3 | $150,000 |
| 4 | $100,000 |
| 5 | $60,000 |
| 6 | $45,000 |
| 7 | $35,000 |
| 8 | $30,000 |
Preview
Favourite Exaggerator will be fighting history when he sets off at Belmont Park. No horse has completed the Preakness and Belmont Stakes double since Afleet Alex achieved the feat in 2005, according to Kevin Martin of CBS San Francisco.
Being fancied in the betting is unlikely to do Exaggerator many favours, either. Only three of the betting favourites have rode home to win this race during the last 20 years, per Mike Dempsey of Odds Shark.
But three-time Kentucky Derby winner Kent Desormeaux will fancy his chances of beating history. The decorated jockey was recently in the news after entering rehab to deal with issues relating to alcohol, according to Christian Red of the New York Daily News.
Desormeaux retains his confidence he can win at Belmont Park and has urged bettors to back him, per Matt Bonesteel of the Washington Post. He's got the record and the right horse for the mile-and-a-half slog in New York.
Yet Exaggerator will do well to see off the challenge of Suddenbreakingnews. The horse is a powerful closer but hasn't avoided controversy prior to the race.
As Eric Mitchell of Blood Horse described, sex status recently became an issue for a horse recently changed from "gelding to ridgling" after receiving the results of an anabolic steroid test.
But with things now settled, this horse is a prime contender to upset Exaggerator, thanks to a talent for producing a strong finish.
The best outside bet might be Creator, who Joe Drape of the New York Times believes will benefit from a key change in the saddle: "He gets a positive rider switch to the New York ace Ortiz after a troubled Derby. He will take some money."
Irad Ortiz Jr. will be replacing Ricardo Santana Jr. and has a solid recent pedigree at the Belmont, having "finished second in the rider standings" last year, according to Jonathan Lintner of the Courier-Journal.
Creator has the speed and power to upset the field at Elmont. Yet this is still a race that seems to belong to Exaggerator and his nearest contenders. Among them, Suddenbreakingnews has the best chance of earning the win.
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