Belmont Stakes Start Time 2017: NBC TV Schedule, Post Time, Live Stream, Picks

The 2017 Triple Crown season is guaranteed to feature three different winners with Kentucky Derby champion Always Dreaming and Preakness Stakes champion Cloud Computing both skipping Saturday's Belmont Stakes in New York.

While there's no Triple Crown on the line in the 149th running of the Run for the Carnations, a deep, competitive field should still make for an entertaining race. It's even more wide open following the mid-week withdraw of Classic Empire, the expected favorite.

Let's check out all of the important details for the event. That's followed by a look at the full field of contenders and a race preview.

Viewing Information

Where: Belmont Park in Elmont, New York

When: Saturday, June 10 at 6:37 p.m. ET

Watch: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Belmont Stakes Field

Post — Horse (Jockey; Trainer; Odds)

1. Twisted Tom (Javier Castellano; Chad Brown; +2000)

2. Tapwrit (Jose Ortiz; Todd Pletcher; +750)

3. Gormley (Victor Espinoza; John Shirreffs ; +1200)

4. J Boys Echo (Robby Albarado; Dale Romans; +1600)

5. Hollywood Handsome (Florent Geroux; Dallas Stewart; +3300)

6. Lookin At Lee (Irad Ortiz Jr.; Steve Asmussen; +550)

7. Irish War Cry (Rajiv Maragh; H. Graham Motion; +300)

8. Senior Investment (Channing Hill; Kenneth McPeek; +650)

9. Meantime (Mike Smith; Brian Lynch; +1400)

10. Multiplier (Joel Rosario; Brendan Walsh; +1600)

11. Epicharis (Christophe Lemaire; Kiyoshi Hagiwara; +350) (Scratched, per Bloodhorse's Claire Novak and Jeremy Balan)

12. Patch (John Velazquez; Todd Pletcher; +2500)

Vegas lines via OddsShark.

Race Preview

Classic Empire arrived to the Triple Crown trail with high expectations after an outstanding two-year-old campaign that included victories in the Breeders' Futurity and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

He battled with a late-charging Cloud Computing down the stretch of the Preakness and just didn't have enough finishing kick at the wire. That heartbreaking defeat for his connections came after a nightmare Kentucky Derby trip prevented him from serious contention.

Now, instead of trying to salvage the last six weeks with a Belmont victory, Classic Empire exits the trail without a marquee victory. On Wednesday, Alicia Wincze Hughes of BloodHorse passed along comments from trainer Mark Casse about the decision.

"This morning his foot is bugging him again," he said. "It's the same thing that got him after the Holy Bull. When we came in this morning, he could hardly get around. And there is a very good chance that in the next hour it will bust and he'll be fine, but even with that, we wouldn't want to do that to him."

His departure allowed Irish War Cry to take over the role of morning-line favorite.

The H. Graham Motion trainee is making his first start since a disappointing 10th-place showing in the Kentucky Derby. His prior outing provide more reason for optimism, however, including victories in the Wood Memorial and the Holy Bull Stakes.

Dottie Miller of The Racing Biz believes the draw gave his chances a boost:

Patch is among the biggest threats to the favorite. The one-eyed horse returns after finishing a distant 14th in the Kentucky Derby. Despite that lackluster result, he features a lot of promising distance in his bloodline, which is perfect fit for the longest of the Triple Crown races.

XBTV highlighted some of the sentimental favorite's pre-race work:

Patch is still lightly raced with just four career starts under his belt, which is why his poor Derby showing wasn't a major surprise. But if he can put together a run similar to his second-place effort in the Louisiana Derby combined with his distance pedigree, the Belmont could end with a feel-good story.

Then there's Gormley. He's lacked consistency early in his career, but he's followed a trend of bouncing back from a bad outing with a great one. His last six starts have included three victories with three finishes outside the top three sandwiched between the wins.

If that streak continues, he's due to win the Belmont. Of course, it's not that simple, but there's a good chance he'll be far more competitive Saturday than he was en route to finishing ninth in the Kentucky Derby just over a month ago.

Jockey Victor Espinoza is confident the colt can handle the distance, per Jeremy Balan of BloodHorse.

"There's no question about it. The distance is not going to be an issue for him," Espinoza said. "He's in good shape and he's bred to go long."

Although those are the three most intriguing starters in the group, the Belmont is very much up for grabs. There isn't a dominant horse in the race.

Predicted Finish: 1. Patch 2. Gormley 3. Irish War Cry