Belmont Gold Cup 2016: Winner, Payouts and Order of Finish

If the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes is considered one of the most intimidating tests horse racing has to offer, the Belmont Gold Cup should be viewed as a positively grueling challenge for some of the sport's aged competitors.

The two-mile turf scamper features horses who are at least four years old, and the $300,000 race requires jockeys to enact game plans that feature a blend of patience in the early going and aggression down the backstretch.

On Friday, Da Big Hoss ran to victory after entering the action as a 3-1 favorite, per Daily Racing Form. Now We Can finished in second, while Twilight Eclipse managed a third-place finish.

The Belmont Stakes offered a look at the final stages of the race: 

Here's a look at the complete order of finish: 

Place	Horse	Lengths Behind
1	Da Big Hoss	----
2	Now We Can	1.5
3	Twilight Eclipse	5
4	Closing Bell	5.5
5	Belisarius	6.5
6	Up With The Birds	7
7	Silver Lime	8.75
8	Biz The Nurse	9.75
9	Kaigun	11.5
10	My Afleet	13.25
11	Tobias	15.25
12	Rum Tum Tugger	15.75
13	Tiz Town	Scratch

And here's a rundown of the payouts based on a $2 bet, courtesy of the NBC Sports Network broadcast: 

Horse	Win	Place	Show
Da Big Hoss	$6.40	$3.600	$2.90
Now We Can	----	$4.40	$3.10
Twilight Eclipse	----	----	$4.50

My Afleet led the proceedings by several lengths through the first mile, but the five-year-old couldn't sustain his front-running ways beyond that.

Belisarius briefly seized the lead as things started to heat up, with Kaigun trailing close behind, but things changed dramatically at the top of the stretch.

Da Big Hoss and Now We Can were both unleashed after they were ordered to hang back and conserve energy over the first 1 1/2 miles, and the favorite ran away from the competition to capture yet another win after he was angled outside.

The Michael J. Maker-trained horse has now won three of his last four races, including a stellar run at the Elkhorn Stakes that closely mirrored his effort Friday.

Now We Can looked surprisingly strong for a seven-year-old, and he has now finished third or better in each of his last five races dating back to June 2014.

With the Gold Cup complete, attention will shift to Saturday's main event at Belmont Park.

Exaggerator will be looking to capture a majority share of this year's Triple Crown races in the marathon run, but a group of strong challengers that includes Stradivari, Suddenbreakingnews, Cherry Wine and Destin will be in hot pursuit of a title on the New York track. 

And if recent history is any indication, Exaggerator may be in trouble. According to Odds Shark's Mike Dempsey, only three betting favorites—including American Pharoah in 2015—have captured glory at the Belmont over the last 20 years.