(AsiaGameHub) – By: Christian Brooks
Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo is the go-to pick for casual Belmont bettors right now. That choice is a surefire way to throw your money away. This year’s field has no dedicated early speed runners, so the overall race pace will be slow. Golden Tempo won the Derby entirely because of a blistering fast early pace he could close against. He has no structural advantage in this race, and his odds are wildly overinflated.
The 158th Belmont Stakes runs Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. Post time is 7:04 p.m. ET, with live coverage on FOX. It runs a shortened 1-1/4 miles this year, before returning to its traditional 1-1/2 miles at Belmont Park in 2027. The nine-horse field’s full details are below:
| Post Position | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
| 1 | Vitruvian Man | Doug O’Neill | Antonio Fresu | 30-1 |
| 2 | Power Shift | Todd Pletcher | Luis Saez | 12-1 |
| 3 | Chief Wallabee | Bill Mott | Junior Alvarado | 3-1 |
| 4 | Renegade | Todd Pletcher | Irad Ortiz | 2-1 |
| 5 | Ottinho | Chad Brown | Dylan Davis | 20-1 |
| 6 | Growth Equity | Chad Brown | Manny Franco | 12-1 |
| 7 | Commandment | Brad Cox | John Velazquez | 6-1 |
| 8 | Emerging Market | Chad Brown | Flavien Prat | 6-1 |
| 9 | Golden Tempo | Cherie DeVaux | Jose Ortiz | 9-2 |
Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo returns to action Saturday after skipping the Preakness Stakes.
Related: What is an Exacta Bet? | What is a Trifecta Bet? | What is a Superfecta Bet?
Four horses deliver the only positive expected value in this year’s betting pool. Emerging Market lost a shoe mid-race at the Derby, and beat Golden Tempo by three-quarters of a length at the Louisiana Derby in March. 2-1 favorite Renegade never finished off the board in six career starts, and took second at the Derby from the worst rail draw. Chief Wallabee’s trainer and jockey won last year’s Belmont, and Commandment’s stalking pace fits the slow projected race perfectly. A $10 Exacta Box 8-4-3-7 is the only bet worth placing this weekend.
Author bio: Christian Brooks, prominent financial and business lead commentator covering high-stakes sports betting and alternative investment markets for 12 years.