While we won’t see a Triple Crown winner in 2019, we could see a small bit of history get made on Saturday at the 2019 Belmont Stakes. Only one of the horses involved in Saturday’s race won one of the other races this year, with neither of the horses involved in the controversial finish at the Kentucky Derby appearing in the race.
The only notable horse form the prior races is War of Will, the winner of the Preakness Stakes and the horse involved in the objection that brought down Maximum Security from the top spot at the Kentucky Derby. That cleared the way for Country House to take the win at Churchill Downs.
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The 2019 Belmont Stakes will feature only 10 horses, with War of Will and Tacitus leading the pack in the odds. As of Friday, Tacitus was the favorite to win at 5-2. War of Will comes next sitting at 9-2.
Tacitus finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby, moving up to third after Maximum Security was taken down due to objection, and skipped the Preakness Stakes. The finish at Churchill Down and the rest since then places Tacitus near the top, competing directly with War of Will.
War of Will is looking to win two out of three races in the Triple Crown, a slice of history on its own. Only 52 horses have two of the Triple Crown races, with 18 of those coming in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. While the horse is likely to be caught in the shadow on the Kentucky Derby going forward, it would join some great company in the record books if it is able to pull out the win.
One of the interesting horses to include in your bets on Saturday will be Intrepid Heart, standing at 5-1. According to Jody Demling over at CBS Sports, Intrepid Heart is an “exotic bet” that has a “pedigree for longer races.” The Belmont Stakes is known as being the longest in the Triple Crown, typically a point where many horses fall after running the prior two races.
At the end of the day, the field for the Belmont is wide open and any of the horses can win. This year hasn’t seen any one horse dominate the field thanks to the controversy in The Kentucky Derby. The odds will change once bets start coming in ahead of post time, but here are the up-to-date odds, via CBS Sports.
Tacitus 5-2
War of Will 9-2
Master Fencer 11-1
Intrepid Heart 5-1
Bourbon War 7-1
Everfast 12-1
Sir Winston 7-1
Spinoff 11-1
Tax 11-1
Joevia 15-1
Belmont Stakes coverage will be televised on NBC starting at 4 p.m. ET.
