Belmont Stakes Odds 2019: Examining Lines, Payouts and Picks for Elmont Field
Tacitus and War of Will have been at the forefront of most conversations regarding the 2019 Belmont Stakes.
The pair of favored horses enter Saturday's race at Belmont Park as the most tested competitors in the 10-horse field in Elmont, New York.
Tacitus produced a strong performance at the Kentucky Derby, but he skipped the Preakness Stakes, which was won by War of Will.
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Since they are receiving the bulk of the attention, Tacitus and War of Will have low odds to win the Belmont.
In order to make Saturday as profitable as possible from a betting perspective, you are going to have to take a chance on some long shots, whether it be for them to win or finish in the money positions.
Belmont Stakes Field and Betting Lines
Picks
1. War of Will
2. Tacitus
3. Tax
4. Everfast
5. Master Fencer
6. Sir Winston
7. Intrepid Heart
8. Joevia
9. Bourbon War
10. Spinoff
If we base the Belmont predictions off the previous two Triple Crown races, we have to include at least one long shot in the top three.
At Churchill Downs, Country House was awarded the victory after holding 65-1 odds, and if Maximum Security was not disqualified, a second-place mark would have still been remarkable for the colt.
Three weeks ago at Pimlico Race Course, Everfast took second behind War of Will at 50-1 odds in the Preakness Stakes.
Deciphering which of the long shots will be perfect for trifecta and superfecta bets could be a difficult task heading because of the inexperience and poor Triple Crown finishes of the group behind Tacitus and War of Will.
Everfast should be one of those options to consider since he holds 12-1 odds after his runner-up finish in Maryland.
Tax is another intriguing option at 15-1. If you look past his 14th-place mark at the Kentucky Derby, you will see a second-place finish to Tacitus at the Wood Memorial on his resume.
It is also worth noting Tax's jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr., won the 2016 Belmont Stakes aboard Creator.
If you put more stock in the experience of jockeys, Mike Smith and Bourbon War could be worth one of your long-shot bets.
Smith won the Triple Crown a year ago with Justify, and Bourbon War comes from the blood line of Tapit that has produced three of the last five Belmont winners.
Bourbon War, Intrepid Heart and Tacitus are looking to follow the path set by Tonalist, Creator and Tapwrit as members of Tapit's blood line to reach the winner's circle at Belmont Park.
All of the factors mentioned above should go into your final decision, which would ideally be made early Saturday before lines begin to fluctuate.
War of Will and Tacitus are the easy choices to fill up your betting slip, but we suggest adding a long shot to your trifecta wager in order to get a larger payout.
If you want to take a risk, adding two horses with odds of 10-1 or higher to a superfecta wager with Tacitus and War of Will should produce a large payout if you get the combination right.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from Horse Racing Nation.
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