2009 Belmont Stakes Predictions

Written June 4, 2009 by Jason Lowry

mine-that-bird We are just a couple days away from the 141st running of the Belmont Stakes. The race is scheduled for Saturday afternoon and will be televised on ABC nation wide. Some excitement will be missing at this race, as Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird was unable to keep the triple crown hopes alive with a win at the Preakness. The race will also be without Preakness winner Rachel Alexander, who decided against running this weekend at the Belmont Stakes. While no horse has a shot at the elusive triple crown this weekend, jockey Calvin Borel will complete the jockey triple crown if he is able to take Mine That Bird to a win this Saturday. There are ten horses ready to race this weekend, and here is my prediction on the 1-2-3 finish for the 2009 Belmont Stakes.

1. Mine That Bird 4/3 odds to win at Bodog.com: This horse surprised everyone with his outstanding performance at the Kentucky Derby. Mine That Bird had just a 50-1 shot to win the Kentucky Derby, compared to this weekend where he is the clear favorite to win the race. Mine That Bird finished second at the Preakness Stakes, but if there was one race out of the three that this horse was made to run, its the Belmont Stakes. The 1.5 mile track should allow for this horse to cruise to victory this Saturday, and I don’t think enough can be said about jockey Calvin Borel, and the advantage this horse has with this guy riding on his back. For those of you betting on this horse don’t be worried if this horse falls a few lengths behind early, as this horse has incredible closing speed. While an upset is always possible, I think the safe and smart bet at the Belmont Stakes goes on Mine That Bird. Also worth mentioning is Mine That Bird will be starting out of post #7 this Saturday.

2. Chocolate Candy 10/1 odds to win at Bodog.com: Here is my surprise pick of the race this weekend, as I feel Chocolate Candy has the ability to sneak into the top 3 at the Belmont Stakes. Chocolate Candy starts out of post #1, and I feel that will play a huge role in this horse getting into the starting position needed to run a good race. Chocolate Candy ran to a 5th place finish at the Kentucky Derby, but did not take part in the Preakness Stakes. While its hard telling if this horse will have what it takes to run the 1.5 race at the Belmont Stakes, his strong closing performance at the Kentucky Derby leads me to believe he will handle the extra length just fine. Another reason to like Chocolate Candy this weekend, is he has one of the top jockeys in the world on his back in Garrett Gomez.

3.Dunkirk 9/2 odds to win at Bodog.com: The horse that will be starting right along side Chocolate Candy will be Dunkirk, as this horse will start out of post #2. If you remember back to the Kentucky Derby, Dunkirk was one of the favorites to win the race, but drew the outside post position and struggled to deal with all the traffic to the front. That led to a very poor showing at the Kentucky Derby, but if you look at the history of this horse, he should be primed for a very strong run this weekend. This horse could even surprise me and pull off the upset and win this race, but for now I think a 3rd place finish is just about right for this horse.

For those of you looking to do some Belmont Stakes betting this weekend, be sure to take advantage of the $50 match bonus at Bodog.com.

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