The Test of Champions: Betting Belmont Stakes Lines & Top Trifecta Picks for the Race

Previous Betting News

Handicapping this year’s version of the Belmont Stakes is going to be tougher than in previous years, as we have a field that is wide open. There are 12 horses set to fill the starting gate at Belmont Park in New York on Saturday night, and any one of that dozen could end up winning this thing. I think there is a real chance that we could see some nice exotics payouts, as I believe there are one or two live longshots that might be able to get in the money. While the focus of this piece is trifecta picks, I am also going to make horse racing betting predictions for the exacta and superfecta, as well as delivering my pick for the win. Let’s get started by looking at the potential winner of the Belmont Stakes.

Analyzing The Trifecta Picks For The 2017 Belmont Stakes

Belmont Stakes Win Bet

Like I said, this is a wide open field, and there is a real chance that one of the longer priced horses takes the wire first. Irish War Cry is the morning line favorite, but he is one that does not inspire a lot of confidence, as he tends to be inconsistent. I am going to have him in the money in my exotics picks, but I don’t have him finishing first. At 6-1 in the morning line, I think Tapwrit is seriously undervalued, which is good news for bettors looking to make some money at the Belmont. He is fresh after finishing 6th at the Kentucky Derby, and he has 2 Belmont Stakes winners, Tonalist and Creator, in his bloodline.

Belmont Stakes Exacta Bet

Okay, so now that I have my winner picked, the next step is to build on that for my exotics picks. There are a few ways you can go here, and I always like hedging my bets a little, which I will do in a moment. If you want to play a straight exacta, I would go with Tapwrit over Irish War Cry. It’s a bit of a dodgy bet, but one that won’t cost you more than a buck or two. I like to have three horses in my exacta bets in the form of a box, which means any of the 3 horses can finish top two and I win. Besides the two horses mentioned, let’s also add Senior Investment, a horse I believe to be a live longshot.

Belmont Stakes Trifecta Bet

Okay, so we now have the top 3 horses lined up, but again, I like to do a box bet when it comes to the trifecta. That means seeking out a 4th horse to add into the mix. The one that jumps out to me is the Japanese horse Epicharis. Sure, he is not used to racing in North America, but he has a history of running in big races, and should be fine here. I would also box these same 4 horses in a superfecta bet, and if these picks come in, we should be looking at some very nice payouts.

Previous Betting News

Playing the horses on a regular basis means becoming an expert in money management. The best way to build your bankroll is by playing smaller stakes with larger payouts. You can try and pick live longshots, but will likely not have very much luck there. The best way to make the bigger bucks is by hitting the exotics bets, and they don’t come much bigger than the trifecta. In order to cash a winning trifecta ticket, you need to be able to predict the exact order of finish for the top 3. This is a little harder to do in Triple Crown races where the fields can be huge, but since the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 11 is only slated to have 8 horses running, your chances of winning will escalate quite nicely. The beauty of the trifecta is that you can cash a ticket paying hundreds, or sometimes even thousands, of dollars by wagering just $1. With a smaller field, you are not likely to hit those dizzying heights, but you can still make a very tidy profit by paying attention to the live odds and potential payouts for each possible winning combination.

Analyzing the 2016 Belmont Stakes Trifecta Betting Picks

Keying the favorite on top in your trifecta ticket

The 2016 Belmont Stakes morning lines will be out soon, but we already know that Preakness winner Exaggerator is going to be the heavy favorite. A good way to save some money with your trifecta ticket is to key him on top in all your wagers, assuming of course that you think he cannot be beat. Try to narrow down your selections to 4 horses that have a shot at landing in the money, and then play a ticket that would have Exaggerator winning, and the other 3 battling it out for second and third. Your ticket would read Exaggerator with horse 2,3,4 with horse 2,3,4 for a total cost of $6 on a $1 stake. As long as the favorite wins and any of your other 3 take second and third, you win.

Boxing your trifecta ticket

If you want to talk about money management, then you need to talk about increasing your chances to win in every race. Playing a horse on top will reduce your stake, but it will increase your risk. If you want to increase your chances of winning, you have to look at boxing your trifecta ticket. Boxing means selecting a certain number of horses and paying every possible winning combination. The number of horses you choose increases your chances of cashing a winning ticket, but it also increases the cost of your ticket. When playing a trifecta box, I generally play 4 horses, which adds up to 24 potential combinations, which, with a $1 stake, adds up to a $24 ticket. The horses I would play here are Exaggerator, Stradivari, Suddenbreakingnews, and Brody’s Cause.

It is important that you pay attention to the live odds, as it is possible to win yet still lose money with a boxed ticket. Most online sportsbooks will show you the potential payouts for every winning ticket, so look at those and bet accordingly.

Previous Betting News

Picking the winner of a Triple Crown race is never easy, simply because the fields are made up of the very best horses in the sport right now. If you think just hitting a win ticket is difficult, imagine how hard it would be to predict the exact order of the top 3. That is exactly what you need to do with the trifecta bet, and while it’s not an easy one to win, the payouts make the gamble well worth it. The good news for this year’s Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 10 is that we are potentially looking at an 8-horse field. While this reduces the chances of the trifecta payout hitting the thousands of dollars, there is still a shot that you could be looking at a few hundred, depending of course on the order of finish. The live odds will dictate exactly what that payout is, so let’s take a look at how you can play the trifecta ticket to maximize your chances of winning.

Taking a Sneak Peak at the 2016 Belmont Stakes Trifecta Odds Picks

Keying the favorite on top in your trifecta ticket

There are a few different ways you can go if you are positive that Exaggerator, the morning line favorite, will win the 2016 Belmont Stakes. Rather than trying to play a straight trifecta, you can increase your chances of winning by playing a number of different horses in the second and third place spots. For example, let’s say that you have Exaggerator as the winner, and then have 3 other horses battling it out for the other spots, you would play a ticket that reads Exaggerator with horse 2,3,4 with horse 2,3,4. This is a $6 ticket when going with a $1 stake, so you have a very good shot at making a nice profit. If you really want to play it safe, you could play Exaggerator with all with all, which would cost you $42.

Boxing your trifecta ticket

When playing the exotic bets, you want to maximize your chances of winning as much as possible, which means paying extra to get a large number of potential winning combinations. The easiest way to do this is by boxing your trifecta ticket. When boxing a ticket, you are essentially saying that any combination of your selected horses can finish in the top 3. You can put as many horses as you like in there, but the more you add, the more it will cost. I tend to go with 4 horses in my trifecta box tickets, which means 24 potential winning combinations. As is the case with all exotic bets, you multiply the stake by the number of combinations to get the total cost. In this case, you would be looking at a $24 ticket.

You need to pay attention to the tables that show the potential exotic payouts to see if the amount wagered will actually deliver a profit with each potential winning combination. The favorite winning will deliver the lowest payout, but if you can get one of your longer priced horses on top, you will start to see those payouts creep up.

The 4 horses I like for the trifecta are Exaggerator, Stradivari, Suddenbreakingnews, and Brody’s Cause.