With the annual quest for the Triple Crown of Horse Racing underway this 2015, we now have 2 legs, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, now in our past, let’s move forward to the Saturday June 6th Belmont Stakes. This Belmont Stakes is the 3rd and final leg of the Triple Crown racing for thoroughbreds. Can American Pharaoh overcome the still competition to take this Triple Crown Race and become the first in nearly Forty (40) years to sweep the 3 races and take the Triple Crown? Will another horse beat American Pharaoh who has already won the Derby and the Preakness to continue the Triple Crown dry spell for another Horse Racing year?
Yes the Belmont Stakes early favorite is none other than American Pharaoh who after winning the Derby was draped in roses, then after the Preakness he was draped in Black Eyed Susan’s as the winner of both. His early odds are -110 and he’s just a Belmont Stakes race away winning the Triple Crown in 2015, and to be the first horse in some 37 years, back in 1978 when Affirmed last won the TC. His trainer is the famous B. Baffert and his horse prevailed in the Derby as his jockey V. Espinoza pushed in to win as he came out of the starting gate. As it turned out the jockey took American Pharaoh to a 7 length lead to win the race. This jockey Espinoza has previously won the Derby and Preakness on 2 different occasions, but was unable previously to win at the Belmont Stakes. Then will his 3rd attempt be Espinoza and American Pharaoh’s lucky race?
The there are some sleepers as the fans call them, and in the Belmont Stake we have 2 apparent sleepers in Keen Ice and Firing Line. Certainly Pharaoh is the favorite entering this race, but there still are some great odds against him, starting with the lack of a TC Winner in some 37 years. In the years of 1979 to 2013 there were some 12 horses that won the 1st 2 lets of the TC, but at the Stakes their hopes all perished and ended.
So, it’s not a bad idea when betting on the Belmont Stakes to take a serious look and sleepers like Keen Ice and Firing Line, as it was Firing Line who surprised American Pharaoh in the Kentucky Derby and placed 2nd, but then at Belmont he came in 7th. Yes, Firing Line will try again, and his jockey G. Stevens has won the Belmont some 3 previous times. Another point is that Firing Line has never finished off the charts since his racing began back in early 2014.
The Keen Ice is another Colt seeking an upset at the Belmont Stakes who raced in the Derby but missed the Preakness. The Colt ended the race at 7th after he started in the outside 17th slot in the starting gate. That performance leads on to believe that Keen Ice has the attributes to compete in this long race at Belmont. Also, for his last 7 outings he came in 3rd in three of those races.
Then don’t stop there, because we still have a long shot in Frammento and one that the serious better should consider. Presently on the morning odds he is listed at +4,000 for the 3 year old who is trained by another famous trainer, in Nick Zitto a Hall of Famer himself. In the Kentucky Derby, Frammento only finished at Eleventh, but his trainer’s confidence in his horse has not. He believes Frammento is a horse that was designed for the long racetrack, and remembers the track at Belmont is 1.5 miles long. He also states his horse has the will to ‘run all day long.’ However, in his outings this year he has only ‘showed’ in 4 different races. He did not run in the Preakness.
The Media experts are predicting the American Pharaoh will end the 37 year Triple Crown Horse Racing vacancy by winning the Belmont Stakes on this coming 6th of June 2015.