Belmont Stakes Odds 2018: Latest Vegas Betting Lines for Elmont Field

Days out from the 2018 Belmont Stakes, it's still difficult to look past Triple Crown candidate Justify as the pick of the bunch, with the latest betting lines all running in favour of Bob Baffert's most prized pony.

Victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes always meant Justify was likely to pull rank for the trip to Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, and he's now on the cusp of etching his name in the horse-racing history books.

It was only in 2015 that Baffert trained American Pharoah to end the 37-year wait for a Triple Crown, and if that wasn't enough, he now finds himself on the verge of winning the award twice in three years.

OddsShark provided a rundown of the field and their latest odds, with Justify refusing to budge from his perch as the overwhelming favourite: 

Read on for a preview of Saturday's race as Justify looks to join an elite list of Triple Crown winners at Belmont Park.

Justify's Final Jump

American flat racing hasn't seen a figure as daunting as Justify since it was another Baffert charge, American Pharoah, who dominated his three-year-old class to take home one of the biggest prizes in the sport.

It's been a long three weeks of waiting and preparing for the third and final instalment of the three-race series, but Justify looked smooth and free of discomfort during his last preparations at Churchill Downs this week:

That isn't to suggest he's a shoo-in for victory at Belmont, however, as Justify looked more vulnerable toward the end of each of his runs in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

At Churchill Downs, it was runner-up Good Magic who closed the distance well to make things more competitive at the climax, while Bravazo, who impressed from a wide start in Kentucky, finished strong to take second at Pimlico Race Course.

Bravazo will be back in the field on Saturday and will hope third time's the charm following wet finishes behind Justify in both their previous outings.

The field of promising outsiders doesn't end there, though, and the Belmont Stakes Twitter account provided a profile of Vino Rosso, trained by Todd Pletcher and one who's expected to figure more heavily in the race for the win:

Vino Rosso's back for another bite at the cherry after finishing ninth at the Kentucky Derby, which also happened to be his Grade 1 debut.

Pletcher has won the Belmont Stakes three times already with Rags to Riches (2007), Palace Malice (2013) and Tapwrit (2017). He has another two chances this year with Vino Rosso and Noble Indy, each of whom he's said show traits of his previous Elmont winners, per HorseRacingNation.com:

"First of all, they both have pedigrees that fit this race. In Rags to Riches' case she was truly, truly bred for a mile and a half on the dirt. She was also a very strong-galloping horse that was very impressive to watch train on a daily basis. She had that natural stamina and ability to get into a rhythm and carry that pace over a distance of ground. 

"Both of them have that training style about them where they show good stamina in their gallops, good rhythms in their gallops and also have been successful at winning races at 1 1/8 miles already."

If it's an underdog one favours, however, Gronkowski, part-owned by New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, looks to be the best bet, per Thoroughbred Insider:

Acclimation will be key if he's to have any chance, too, in spite of any good form Gronkowski might have enjoyed in England, with two wins at Newcastle, one win at Kempton and one win at Chelmsford in the past six months.

Justify may not be the value pick for punters, but there are those in the field who could yield dividends if he fails to complete his Triple Crown collection on Saturday.