There may not be a Triple Crown on the line, but the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on June 6 has an outstanding field. With the shift to Laurel Park, the Belmont measuring 1 ¼ miles instead of 1 ½, and continued questions about whether or not the timing of the three races makes sense for the barns and the equine athletes, the Preakness Stakes had a pretty watered-down field by its usual standards. Thankfully, with five weeks between the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, we have a very good set of entries for the main event of what looks like an excellent weekend meet.
The Belmont Stakes post position draw was held on Monday, as all nine horses set for the starting gate were given their spots and their morning line odds. Race 13 in your Saratoga program for Saturday, June 6 is set for a post time of 7:04 p.m. ET.
Here are the posts, horses, jockeys, trainers, and odds for the 158th Belmont Stakes
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Vitruvian Man | A. Fresu | D. O’Neill | 30-1 |
| 2 | Powershift | L. Saez | T. Pletcher | 12-1 |
| 3 | Chief Wallabee | J. Alvarado | B. Mott | 3-1 |
| 4 | Renegade | I. Ortiz Jr. | T. Pletcher | 2-1 |
| 5 | Ottinho | D. Davis | C. Brown | 20-1 |
| 6 | Growth Equity | M. Franco | C. Brown | 12-1 |
| 7 | Commandment | J. Velazquez | B. Cox | 6-1 |
| 8 | Emerging Market | F. Prat | C. Brown | 6-1 |
| 9 | Golden Tempo | J. Ortiz | C. DeVaux | 9/2 |
These are the opening line odds right after the Belmont Stakes draw was announced.
We’ve got a very bunched-up odds board here, as Kentucky Derby runner-up Renegade opened the morning line favorite, while Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo opened the third favorite with the far outside post. Many sharp horseplayers gravitated towards Chief Wallabee in the Derby, so expect them to look in his direction again here, despite the fourth-place finish at Churchill Downs in the Run for the Roses.
We’ll have all sorts of coverage for the Belmont Stakes from our own VSiN team of Ed Sehon, Dave Tuley, and Mike Somich, but also plenty for a massive weekend of stakes races from our friends at DRF, including the action from The Spa.
For now, let’s look at some quick notes on each horse and see how the odds board may shape up as the week goes along.
1. Vitruvian Man: We’ve never really seen this exact scenario, but we’ve seen something close, like when influencer Griffin Johnson had Sandman entered in last year’s Triple Crown or anytime a MyRacehorse entry shows up in a big event. Vitruvian Man is co-owned by Run Fast Racing, with investors Lil Wayne and Lil Yachty (fyi for our VSiN regulars, those are rappers). He’s the long shot on the board, but there will be interest on that nugget alone.
2. Powershift: The market activity on Powershift will be interesting to see. He didn’t run in the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness, but has strong connections as a Mike Repole barn-dweller with trainer Todd Pletcher and rider Luis Saez. Some may view Powershift as a pace-presser or even pacesetter to set things up for Renegade, also from the Repole stable and Pletcher barn, but the son of Constitution is interesting on his own.
3. Chief Wallabee: Another Constitution colt here, as Chief Wallabee gets another crack at Commandment, who has emerged as a chief rival based on their runs in the Fountain of Youth, Florida Derby, and Kentucky Derby. The love from Derby Day is still evident with the short price and now we’ll see if the same interested parties are willing to go in a second time at a smaller number.
4. Renegade: Irad Ortiz Jr. was visibly upset when Renegade came up painfully short under the twin spires, so nobody has more motivation this week than the rider on the 4. Repole consoled his jock by telling him that if he was going to lose to anybody, at least he lost to family. But, Irad would love to get one back here and he has the favorite. This tandem won back in 2022 with Mo Donegal and could very well do so again.
5. Ottinho: Chad Brown opted not to run Ottinho in the Kentucky Derby, despite the fact that he had enough points to qualify. Instead, he has been recovering from a bruised foot. The bloodline is there as the son of Quality Road and nephew of Gun Runner, which means a mile and a quarter shouldn’t be an issue, but data points with this caliber of field are in really short supply.
6. Growth Equity: This might be an attractive price, especially for New Yorkers who just watched a two-length win in the Peter Pan Stakes from this son of Nyquist. This is another Brown entry with Manny Franco in the mount and the trend line in both distance and performance have been pointing up since his career began.
7. Commandment: Arguably the biggest disappointment in Louisville was Commandment, who won four straight before finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby. With less traffic and not a whole lot of pace in this field, this one simply might set up better and a shorter price than 6-1 on Saturday shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody.
8. Emerging Market: This lightly-raced Brown entry only has three runs to his name, with two wins and a 10th in the Kentucky Derby. The Candy Ride colt was better than Golden Tempo in the Louisiana Derby and the 1 3/16 was no issue there. Like Commandment, a cleaner trip is very possible.
9. Golden Tempo: After making history with her Kentucky Derby win, trainer Cherie DeVaux will look to put her name next to 2023 Belmont Stakes winning trainer Jena Antonucci. Remember, Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby at 23-1 and now comes from the outside at 9/2. Everybody will forever remember his closing run over the final couple furlongs to make history, but Jose Ortiz may have to run a different style here by running closer to the front of the field and spending a little more energy early.
Be sure to hear more analysis from Mike leading up to the Belmont Stakes on the VSiN At The Track podcast.
