Exacta Picks For The 2017 Belmont Stakes

Previous Betting News

When you look at all of the different betting options available for any horse race, it can be tough to know where to start. The easiest way to go is to simply put on win, place, or show tickets, but if you want to cash some bigger winning tickets, you need to start playing the exotics. The final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, goes off this Saturday, June 11 at Belmont Park in New York, and there is a real chance to make some money on this one. Exaggerator is sure to come in as the firm favorite at not so great odds, and if you believe he will win, it’s then up to you to decide which horses will finish behind him in the money. If you can figure that out, you are in with a real shot at having a very nice day with your exotics bets. We will look at all of your betting options this week, but let’s start out by taking a look at the exacta, and how you can use the sportsbook odds to your advantage.

Taking a Sneak Peak at the 2016 Belmont Stakes Exacta Betting Picks

Playing the Favorite on Top in the Exacta

The favorite only wins horse races about 30% of the time, but the fact of the matter is that some favorites are better than others. Preakness winner Exaggerator is going to be the favorite at the Belmont on Saturday, so let’s assume that he will win, how would you play this exacta? The easiest way to go is with a straight exacta pick, which would require you to select the exact order of finish of the top 2. For that, I would take Exaggerator and Stradivari. If you want to give yourself more chances to win, try playing a few horses in the second spot, with the favorite on top. Multiply your stake by the number of horses in that second place spot. For example, if you take Exaggerator with 3 other horses, you will pay $3 on a $1 stake.

Looking at Other Exacta Options

If you want to keep your options open and hedge your bets a little, try a 3 horse exacta box. This will give you 6 potential winning combinations, and will help cover you if the favorite comes up short. The cost of this ticket is your stake multiplied by the number of potential winning combinations, which would mean this would cost $6 on a $1 stake. Any of your 3 horses finishing in the top two in any order gets you the win.

Another good way to cover yourself is to play 3 horses on top and 4 in the second place spot. You are only playing 4 horses here, but giving yourself multiple ways to potentially win. You would play the ticket as horse 1,2,3 with 1,2,3,4, and it would cost you $9 for a $1 stake. The horses I Would use here are Exaggerator, Stradivari, Suddenbreakingnews, and Brody’s Cause.

Be sure to pay attention to the live odds and potential exacta payouts, as this will help you decide the most profitable way to bet.

Previous Betting News

Over the last few years, we have become accustomed to seeing horses going for the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes, with American Pharoah finally getting the job done last year. We are not going to have a bid this time around, though, as Nyquist and Exaggerator split the first two legs of the famous three races. Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist will not even be running at Belmont Park in New York on Saturday, June 11, and many racing fans believe that the door is now wide open for the horses who will be taking part. Things will start to become a little clearer once the morning line odds have been announced, and the post positions drawn, but we can take a quick look at what to expect before the official sports betting odds are put together.

In Depth Report on the 2016 Belmont Stakes Betting Odds Overview

Probable Favorites for the Belmont Stakes

Preakness winner Exaggerator is almost certainly going to be the morning line favorite, and you can expect him to go off at pretty short odds. Expect those odds to really start getting shorter if the Belmont track is in anything less than good condition. This is a horse that seems to thrive on wet, sloppy tracks, which is exactly what he got at Pimlico in the Preakness.

Stradivari is likely to be second favorite in this race. He had a decent run at the Preakness, coming in 4 th , but you really do get the sense that this lightly raced horse was being saved for this race all along, he could be a real danger. At a mile and a half, the Belmont Stakes is a longer race than most of these horses are used to. One horse that may not mind the distance at all is the late closing Suddenbreakingnews. He was closing fast at the Kentucky Derby, and the extra distance here may allow him to get up in time.

The Rest of the Runners at the Belmont Stakes

Once you get past those three probable favorites, you are starting to probably look at betting odds that are a whole lot longer. Destin is the stablemate of Stradivari, and is probably the second best of the two horses. He was 5 th at the Derby before skipping the Preakness and heading to New York. It has been something of an up and down season for Brody’s Cause, but he has shown enough promise to still be considered a petty legitimate threat against this group.

Cherry Wine had a solid second place finish at the Preakness, but he benefited from both an off track and a fast early pace. He may not get either of those this coming Saturday. Lani is still something of a mystery package, as he was shipped in from Japan for the Kentucky Derby. He may actually be better suited to the linger distance here, but still very much a longshot. Creator went into the Derby with a lot of promise, but failed to impress. He made need a blistering early pace set-up if he is to compete here. Governor Malibu is taking a huge step up in class, so expect him to be the rank outsider. He is a game horse who seems to be improving, though, so you never know.