Belmont Stakes Betting

You can bet on the Belmont Stakes at the racecourse and online horse betting sites. Pari-mutual wagering is conducted through off-track betting parlors or online sites licensed through state horsemen’s associations.

Check out U.S. sports betting sites to learn about the sign-up process, where you can bet online, what sports you can bet on, etc.

The Belmont Stakes is the second-most popular thoroughbred race on which to bet in the United States, beaten only by the Kentucky Derby in appeal for wagering. 

The Belmont Stakes betting markets include the win, place, and show standard horse racing wagers, and also have these exotic bets:

• Exacta: Pick the first and second horse to finish in the correct order.
• Trifecta: Predict the first three horses to finish in the exact order.
• Superfecta: Select the first four to finish the race in the right order. This is a thrilling and lucrative feat.
• Quinella: This bet "boxes" an Exacta, meaning you still win if the two picks finish in the first two, regardless of their order. You can also box a Trifecta and Superfecta.

Its unique dirt course defines the Belmont Stakes. Belmont Stakes betting strategy often revolves around deciding which horse will handle the largest dirt course in the country, and it is rarely the Kentucky Derby or Preakness Stakes winner. These colts will never and almost certainly never attempt this race again. 

These betting tips can help you make the most informed bets:

The largest field to ever compete in the Belmont Stakes was 15 in 1983. The next-largest was 14 in 1875. In short, the challenge of the Belmont has dissuaded trainers and owners for more than a century despite the sizeable purse and lure of glory.

If more than 16 horses are entered, the final lineup will be decided by prize money already won. The first eight places are filled by horses accumulating the highest earnings in Graded races at 1 mile or further. The next five places go to horses accumulating the highest earnings in stakes races whose conditions contain no restrictions other than age or sex.

The final three places are selected by the Belmont Stakes Selection Committee, with Triple Crown nominees preferred. In addition, any horse earning prize money in the Kentucky Derby or Preakness Stakes shall be included in the initial eight starters.

The Belmont is known as "The Test of the Champion," in part because of its grueling distance and the truly legendary three-year-old thoroughbreds that have competed in it. The race usually draws small fields of Triple Crown hopefuls or distance runners for the marathon quest, usually with starters from the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes among them.

Now 153 years old – Ruthless won the first installment just two years after the Civil War ended—the Belmont Stakes purse is $1.5 million, with $800,000 going to the winner. The dirt race is contested by qualified three-year-old thoroughbreds over 1 1/2 miles, in front of crowds often in excess of 100,000. 

The throng is even larger if a Triple Crown—wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness – is in play. Such was the case in 2018 when Justify became the 13th to accomplish one of the most difficult feats in sports. It is a big day out, particularly for New Yorkers, ready to test their luck on Belmont Stakes betting.

The Belmont Stakes day total horse racing betting handle is regularly in excess of $130 million, reaching a New York Racing Association single-day record of $151 million when Tonalist denied California Chrome the Triple Crown in 2014.

The Belmont Stakes is run over 1 1/2 miles on the dirt track at Belmont Park in the state of New York. It’s the longest dirt track in North American horse racing, earning it the nickname "Big Sandy." Its vast breadth and sweeping corners provide plenty of routes for jockeys and make this immense track, which has an actual small town inside of it, look like an even bigger place than it is.

It opened in May 1905, having been built by August Belmont, Jr., William Collins Whitney, and a host of smaller investors. Belmont’s father created the Belmont Stakes at his friend Leonard Jerome’s track, Jerome Park, in 1867, but when Belmont Park opened, the Grade 1 moved.

The Belmont Stakes will be run at Saratoga Race Course this year as the new Belmont Park is under construction. Like Belmont Park, Saratoga is operated by the New York Racing Association and has a main dirt track, measuring 9 furlong. The upgraded Belmont Park will open in 2026 in Elmont, NY.