Belmont Stakes odds favor two of trainer Nick Zito’s horses on Saturday.
Ice Box is the likely favorite while Fly Down should be the second or third choice in Belmont Stakes betting.
Belmont Stakes odds should have a field of 12 horses on Saturday led by Zito’s duo. Ice Box is the horse that many people expect to win the race but Fly Down may be better suited to the race with his running style. Zito has had some success at the Belmont as he won in 2004 with Birdstone and in 2008 with Da’Tara. He has finished second 21 times in the Belmont.
Ice Box finished second in the Kentucky Derby behind Super Saver and he looked like he wanted to run farther. He will get that chance in the Belmont.
He is working well as he had a bullet four-furlong workout in 46.65 seconds. Fly Down was just about as good in his last workout going a half-mile in 47.50. Ice Box and Fly Down seem to have the pedigree and the inclination to want to run a mile and a half but you never know how a horse will handle going that far until they actually do it.
Zito is used to having longshots in Belmont Stakes odds but that will not be the case this time. Ice Box is the likely favorite and Fly Down should also have single-digit odds. Fly Down should definitely not be counted out in this race. He won the Dwyer Stakes and looked impressive doing so. The Dwyer was renamed as it used to be the Peter Pan Stakes and that was the key prep race for the Belmont.
Belmont Stakes odds will not have a lot of big names but the field continues to grow. It now looks like a field of 12 horses will go to the post on Saturday. Ice Box will be the favorite but there will be other contenders including Fly Down. The other horse that is likely to have single-digit odds is Preakness runner-up First Dude. He should get some attention based on his strong performance behind Lookin at Lucky in the second race of horse racing’s Triple Crown. After the top three, it could be a bunch of longshots in Belmont Stakes betting.