One of the contenders in Belmont betting is out as Dublin has been taken out of consideration for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 5th.
Dublin ran in both the Kentucky Derby and in the Preakness Stakes but he will not be on the board in Belmont odds.
Belmont betting will not have much star power since Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and Preakness winner Lookin at Lucky will not be in the race. Now that Dublin has been pulled out, there will not be a horse in Belmont odds that will have raced in all three Triple Crown races. It is the first time since 2006 since that has occurred. Dublin finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby and he was fifth in the Preakness. Five horses from the Derby came back to race in the Preakness but none of them are going in the Belmont. Dublin was going to be the horse that raced in all three but trainer D. Wayne Lukas decided to let the horse rest. Lukas said that Dublin "has had five races in 12 weeks." Dublin will be pointed to other races like the Haskell or Jim Dandy before the Breeders’ Cup in early November. "The race in front of you always looms the most important one," said Lukas. "Then once you get past that, the next one has the greatest magnitude. Knowing how that goes, we’ll sit this one out and wait for the next series of big races."
Lookin at Lucky’s trainer Bob Baffert will probably still have a starter in the Belmont as he is looking to send Game on Dude. The Belmont could still be a good race with Derby second place finisher Ice Box the likely favorite. Also in the mix should be Preakness runner-up First Dude and Dwyer Stakes winner Fly Down. Dwyer second place finisher Drosselmeyer should also be in the mix. Nick Zito trains Ice Box and Fly Down while Dale Romans trains First Dude. “I think it’s a great race to win regardless,” Romans said about the field. “With horses like Ice Box, Fly Down and my horse, it’ll be a good race.”
There will definitely be some longshots in the Belmont field with some trainers looking for a big payoff against a perceived weak Belmont Stakes field. That could make the exacta, trifecta and superfecta worth playing on Saturday, June 5th.