Should You Bet on Rich Strike at the Belmont Stakes?
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Rich Strike was the longest shot in the field when he won the Kentucky Derby last month. When they run the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, he’ll be among the favorites.
A field of eight was entered Tuesday in the 154th Belmont, with Rich Strike the 7-2 third choice on the morning line. We the People, who did not compete in the first two Triple Crown races, is the 2-1 favorite, though the betting could go a number of ways when the starting gates open at about 6:45 p.m. Saturday.
Rich Strike, dismissed in the Kentucky Derby at 80-1 odds, rallied from far back to produce the second-longest price in Derby history.
A week later, the horse’s connections announced they would skip the Preakness, the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, and give Rich Strike extra preparation time for the Belmont Stakes, the longest of the Triple Crown races at 1 1/2 miles.
If he wins, Rich Strike, who drew the No. 4 post, will be the first horse since Thunder Gulch in 1995 to win the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, but not the Preakness.
Preakness Winner Not in Field
It won’t be determined until post time just how seriously the betting public will take Rich Strike this time around. Before his upset at Churchill Downs, Rich Strike had just one victory in seven lifetime starts. It seems likely he will be sent off as one of the top three betting choices in the Belmont, which has drawn an evenly-matched field with no obvious favorite.
Preakness winner Early Voting is not in the Belmont field, nor is Epicenter, who finished second in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. In fact, no horse in the Belmont field will have started in all three Triple Crown races.
Morning line favorite We the People is coming off a front-running 10-length victory in the Peter Pan Stakes last month at Belmont Park. Mo Donegal, the second choice on the morning line, finished a wide fifth from the difficult No. 1 post in the Kentucky Derby last time out.
The eight-horse field includes Nest (8-1), a filly who will be taking on colts and finished second in her most recent start, the Kentucky Oaks.
2022 Belmont Stakes Field
| Position | Horse | Trainer | Rider | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | We the People | Rodolphe Brisset | Flavian Pratt | 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 | 6-1 |
| 6 | Mon Donegal | Todd Pletcher | Irad Ortiz | 5-2 |
| 7 | Golden Glider | Mark Casse | Dylan Davis | 20-1 |
| 8 | Barber Road | John Ortiz | Joel Rosario | 10-1 |
Belmont Stakes TV Info
Post Time: 6:45 p.m.(ET), Saturday
Where: Belmont Park, Elmont, N.Y.
TV: NBC
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