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Fri 10/06/2022 - 04:32 EDT

Mo Donegal Brings Class And Stamina to Belmont

The 2022 Belmont Stakes, the 154th edition of New York’s greatest race, will be held Saturday, June 11 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Known as the Test of the Champion, the race covers 1 ½ miles on Belmont’s sweeping dirt course. The winner gets the lion’s share of a $1.5 million purse as well as a place in horse racing history.

Keep reading to find out about the Belmont Stakes, the field for the big race, and the best places to bet the Belmont Stakes online!

Where to Bet the Belmont

The first important decision you need to make before betting the Belmont is finding the best place to bet the Belmont online. There are many options for online sportsbooks, but our expert racebook reviews can help you pick the best site quickly and confidently.

All of our recommended racebooks have trusted deposits and cash-outs, smooth user interfaces, and great betting odds. Different sites also have different racebook bonus offers like sign-up bonuses, rebates, and referral incentives. Our betting experts will help you compare the offers at each site and pick the one most profitable for your betting style!

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Belmont Stakes Information

The Belmont is traditionally the last of the Triple Crown races. It is run five weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes, meaning it typically falls in early- to mid-June.

The Belmont Stakes began in 1868, making it the oldest of the three Triple Crown races. It has been run at four different New York tracks throughout its history: Jerome Park, Morris Park, Aqueduct, and of course Belmont Park.

There have been 13 Triple Crown winners to date, all of whom completed their sweep in the Belmont Stakes: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978), American Pharoah (2015), and Justify (2018).

There is no Triple Crown at stake in 2022. However, Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike will attempt to prove in the Belmont Stakes that his 80-1 Kentucky Derby shocker was not a fluke. He will face a field that includes classy opposition like Peter Pan (G3) winner We the People, Wood (G2) winner Mo Donegal, and Kentucky Oaks (G1) second-place finisher Nest.

The most successful Belmont Stakes trainer to enter a horse in this year’s race is Todd Pletcher. Pletcher has trained three Belmont Stakes winners: the filly Rags to Riches (2007), Palace Malice (2013), and Tapwrit (2017). Pletcher has two chances at this year’s Belmont: the colt Mo Donegal, and the filly Nest.

Belmont Stakes Favorites

Favorites have won the Belmont Stakes 42% of the time. In the last 15 years only four favorites have won the Belmont, though three out of the last four years have seen a winning favorite.

  • 2021: Essential Quality – $4.60 (Favored)
  • 2020: Tiz the Law – $3.60 (Favored)
  • 2019: Sir Winston – $22.40 (Tacitus second)
  • 2018: Justify – $3.60 (Favored)
  • 2017: Tapwrit – $12.60 (Irish War Cry second)
  • 2016: Creator – $34.80 (Exaggerator eleventh)
  • 2015: American Pharoah – $3.50 (Favored)
  • 2014: Tonalist – $20.40 (California Chrome fourth)
  • 2013: Palace Malice – $29.60 (Orb third)
  • 2012: Union Rags – $7.50 (Dullahan seventh)
  • 2011: Ruler On Ice – $51.50 (Animal Kingdom sixth)
  • 2010: Drosselmeyer – $28.00 (Ice Box ninth) 
  • 2009: Summer Bird – $25.80 (Mine that Bird third)
  • 2008: Da’ Tara – $79.00 (Big Brown distanced)
  • 2007: Rags to Riches – $10.60 (Curlin second)

According to the morning line, We the People is expected to be favored in the Belmont Stakes. However, it will be tight at the top of the market between him and the more class-proven Mo Donegal, and neither will be a surprise as the betting favorite once all is said and done.

Belmont Stakes Horses

These are the official entrants for the 2022 Belmont Stakes, along with their post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning line odds:

  1. We the People (Rodolphe Brisset/Flavien Prat) - 2/1

  2. Skippylongstocking (Saffie Joseph, Jr./Manuel Franco) - 20/1
  3. Nest (Todd Pletcher/Jose Ortiz) - 8/1
  4. Rich Strike (Eric Reed/Sonny Leon) - 7/2
  5. Creative Minister (Ken McPeek/Brian Hernandez, Jr.) - 6/1
  6. Mo Donegal (Todd Pletcher/Irad Ortiz, Jr.) - 5/2
  7. Golden Glider (Mark Casse/Dyland Davis) - 20/1
  8. Barber Road (John Ortiz/Joel Rosario) - 10/1

Keep in mind that you are not guaranteed to get these morning-line prices on the horses if you bet the Belmont at the racetrack. The best way to make sure you get the best Belmont odds is to sign up and bet through an online racebook. Online you can get fixed odds, meaning you can lock in the best price at the moment you bet.

These are the current odds at the top of the Belmont market at the best online racebooks:

Horses bovada betonline gt-bets

We the People

+225 +200 +200

Mo Donegal

+250 +250 +250

Rich Strike

+400 +350 +350

Creative Minister

+650 +600 +600

Nest

+800 +800 +800

Barber Road

+1200 +1000 +1000

Belmont Stakes Handicapping

Though Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike is taking a lot of the ink after the Kentucky Derby, the pace will be a lot slower early than the Kentucky Derby was. For a deep closer like him, that is not a good thing. He has an excellent distance pedigree and is in good form, so he may be able to close out a superfecta, but he isn’t exciting for finishing higher than that.

Belmont Stakes Picks

The best bet in the 2022 Belmont Stakes is Mo Donegal. This stoutly-bred colt is trained by three-time Belmont Stakes winner Todd Pletcher, who does well in New York. Mo Donegal is already a winner at Belmont Park. And, even though he closed from near the back in the Derby, he has also won races from closer to the pace, including against good horses in the Remsen. This should help him work a trip in a race where a foe looks to be lone speed.

That likely lone speed is Peter Pan (G3) winner We the People. He is a local winner who does his best work on the front end, and with no one else in the race showing the consistent desire to find the front, We the People could get loose on the lead. The question is his pedigree, as the recent generations of his female family suggest he may find the last furlong taxing.

Nest has to improve from her second-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks in order to be a factor. However, the stretch out in trip should help, as she is bred better than most for this distance, top, and bottom. Even though her more recent races have her well off the pace, she is another who has enough good form close to the pace early in her career to think she could effectively revert to that style.

Belmont Stakes Longshot

Barber Road has been one of the most consistent horses in the three-year-old class. Though he has yet to win a stakes race, he continues to be competitive whenever he does try quality races. And, even though he rallied from the clouds for sixth in the Kentucky Derby, he has enough good races from closer to the pace to prove that he can run well in a Belmont that will go much slower early.

Belmont Stakes Picks

Here are the best bets for the 2022 Belmont Stakes:

  • $20 to win - #6 Mo Donegal
  • $1 exacta key - #6 Mo Donegal with #1 We the People, #3 Nest
  • $1 trifecta key - #6 Mo Donegal with #1 We the People, #3 Nest, #8 Barber Road
  • 20 cent superfecta key - #6 Mo Donegal with #1 We the People, #3 Nest, #4 Rich Strike, #8 Barber Road