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Horse Racing

Belmont Stakes Betting Preview, Trainers to Watch

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
5 minute read
Belmont Stakes Action at TVG!

Belmont Stakes
Betting Preview - Part I

Belmont Stakes
Horses to Watch

For the first time, the Belmont Stakes, on Saturday June 20 at beautiful Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., will kick off the Triple Crown. It will be followed by the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, September 5 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky and the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, October 3 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

Anthony “The Beast of The Belmont” Stabile has you covered when it comes to these unprecedented times for the Triple Crown. He’ll preview each of the races in the week leading up to the races then provide a full analysis the day before each jewel of the Crown and provide Picks Packs as to how he will play those racing cards! To purchase Stabile’s products, click here!!

Trainer Breakdown
Todd Pletcher vs. Steve Asmussen

Two of the top trainers in the world, Todd Pletcher and Hall of Hamer Steve Asmussen, are each pointing a pair of runners at the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes. Both have won prior runnings of the Belmont, with Pletcher getting the money with the filly Rags to Riches in 2007, Palace Malice in 2013, and Tapwrit in 2017. Asmussen took down the 2016 renewal with Creator.

This year, Pletcher will send out Dr. Post and Farmington Road while Asmussen will saddle Pneumatic and Jungle Runner.

Dr. Post could very well be the second choice despite the fact that he will be making his graded stakes debut while making just hos fourth start.

After finishing fourth in his sprint debut at Belmont on Independence Day last year, Dr. Post resurfaced this winter at Gulfstream Park. In his first start off a near nine-month layoff he closed from mid-pack to break his maiden at seven furlongs by just over a length.

Less than a month later, under his new rider Irad Ortiz, Jr., Dr. Post stretched out to two turns in the Unbridled.  With just once horse beat most of the way in the compact field of six, he eventually got through some mild traffic to win by more than a length.

Farmington Road is eligible for an entry-level allowance contest as hew owns just a maiden tally in a mile and forty yards maiden special weight race at Tampa Bay Downs in his third try from six starts overall.

It’s been a steady diet of stakes races since the maiden score for Farmington Road, a stone-cold closer. He finished a good fourth while racing wide throughout and against the speed-biased course at the Fair Grounds in the quicker division of the G2 Risen Star then came back to just miss when blinkers were added and he made up over 15 lengths in the Oaklawn Stakes over a sloppy track at Oaklawn Park.

Last out, in the slightly faster division of the G1 Arkansas Derby won by the now-retired Nadal, jockey Javier Castellano tried to get Farmington Road going a bit earlier than usual, making a mid-race move in a grinding-like manner. It didn’t work, as he flattened out in the stretch before finishing fourth.

Asmussen’s duo is led by Pneumatic, who could be the wild card come Saturday.

Pneumatic broke his maiden despite a bit of trouble at the start in a sprint at Oaklawn by a neck, covering six furlongs in a shade under 1:10.

Pneumatic stretched out to a two-turn mile for his next try against money allowance rivals and was able to work out a similar off-the-pace trip before coming with a more powerful closing kick to win the short-stretch mile at Oaklawn by almost three lengths while drawing away.

Asmussen tried him in the G3 Matt Winn at 1 1/16 miles at Churchill last out and Pneumatic was up against it from the start. Saddled with the rail draw, jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. had little choice and was forced to use his charge early to avoid getting shuffled out. He alternated on the lead throughout and battled on nicely before finishing third to the undefeated, now-injured Maxfield. Pneumatic should be able to return to his off-the-pace style in the Belmont.

Jungle Runner is the most seasoned runner in the field as he has already faced the starter eight times. He’ll be racing at his fifth different racetrack and getting his sixth different rider in Reylu Gutierrez.

Off the board in his first two starts sprinting at Ellis Park, Jungle Runner won back-to-back races at Remington Park, a maiden race at a mile followed by the Clevor Trevor at seven furlongs, before finishing fourth in the track’s top juvenile event, the Springboard Mile.

As a sophomore, Jungle Runner has failed to hit the board in three tries. He beat home just one in the Smarty Jones over a muddy Oaklawn Park strip, last of five when he trailed throughout in his lone start with blinkers in the Mine That Bird at Sunland Park then beat just one home in Charlatan’s division of the Arkansas Derby.

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Belmont Stakes
Projected Field Odds

2020 Belmont Stakes Odds
Horse Trainer Jockey ML Odds
Tiz The Law Barclay Tagg Manny Franco 6/5
Dr Post Todd Pletcher Irad Ortiz 4/1
Pneumatic Steven Asmussen Ricardo Santana Jr. 6/1
Tap It To Win Mark E. Casse John Velazquez 10/1
Sole Volante Patrick Biancone Luca Panici 10/1
Modernist Bill Mott Junior Alvarado 12/1
Farmington Road Todd Pletcher Javier Castellano 15/1
Max Player Linda Rice Joel Rosario 30/1
Jungle Runner Steve Asmussen Reylu Gutierrez 50/1


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