2018 Belmont Stakes Odds: Betting Favorite Justify Draws Rail for Saturday

Six previous challengers and three new competitors are ready to battle Justify in Saturday's 150th running of the Belmont Stakes, as the Bob Baffert-trained horse attempts to become the second in four years and 13th in history to win the Triple Crown.

Justify's shaky win on a sloppy track in the Preakness Stakes three weeks ago has not stopped sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark from pegging him as the -110 favorite (bet $110 to win $100) on the Belmont Stakes odds among 10 total horses in the field competing in Elmont, New York.

Bravazo, trained by Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, and Tenfold nearly upset Justify in the Preakness, but they both needed a few more lengths of track to pull it off, placing second and third behind him, respectively. However, oddsmakers believe more in a horse that did not run at Pimlico Race Course that day, as Hofburg took a break to prepare for the Belmont following a seventh-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.

Hofburg is listed as the +450 second choice in Belmont Stakes betting (wager $100 to win $450) to place first in the Belmont, compared to third choice Bravazo (+750) and fifth choice Tenfold (+1000). In between at +900 is Todd Pletcher's Vino Rosso, who finished ninth in the Kentucky Derby after winning the Wood Memorial.

Noble Indy is the second of Pletcher's two horses that is more of a long shot at +2800 after finishing 17th in the Kentucky Derby. Free Drop Billy is at +3000 and finished one spot ahead of Noble Indy at Churchill Downs.

Three others joining the third leg of the Triple Crown include Doug O'Neill-trained Blended Citizen (+1800), European entry Gronkowski (+2500) and a second Baffert horse in Restoring Hope (+3300). O'Neill hopes to play spoiler this time around after I'll Have Another was unable to go for the Triple Crown back in 2012 due to injury.

Gronkowski, named after and partially owned by New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, did not race in the Kentucky Derby because he had a fever with an illness. He will start from the No. 6 post position, and eight of the last 11 Belmont Stakes winners have begun from one of the first seven spots.

It is worth noting that Justify drew the rail, and no horse has won from the No. 1 post since Touch Gold in 1997.

For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week's top sports betting news, check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.