*UPDATED* Belmont Stakes- 6/9 Race 11 Belmont Park

Since the terrible news came out today that I’ll Have Another will not run and is being retired, below are our new Belmont Stakes picks.

Kelly’s pick-

5- Dullahan  I love that he’s in the 5 spot & feel he is the best horse for the mile and a half distance and he will get the upset. I’m putting money on him to win it all. *Now that I’ll have another is out, Dullahan is the fav of course. I’m gonna add him to my trifecta but hope that he comes in 3rd so I get paid better!

3-Union Rags as much as I don’t want the 3 favs to win it I feel strongly this will be the 3rd leg of my trifecta box. 

9-Paynter- I got accused on Twitter of only liking the favorites, but I can’t help it! I’d love these horses even if they were 50-1.

Long shot- 2-Unstoppable U this horse reminds me of my thoughts about I’ll have another before the Derby. “Damn I don’t know much about this horse but for some reason I like him”. He  is 2/2 in his past races, but he’s never run the 1.5 mile before, but hey none of these horses have.

Superfecta & Exacta boxes 5, 3, 9, 2

 

Marlana’s pick-

4- Union Rags – This horse had the best closing time in the Derby, with a better trip he may have won. I think he will get the win this time.

3- Atigun -My longshot to finish in the top 3. Love the jockey and the odds at 30-1. With I’ll Have Another scratched I’m sure the odds will go down but I still love him. Also, don’t forget Julian Leparoux was the jockey on Union Rags in the Derby and was taken off. This could be his chance for revenge.

5- Dullahan - He will probably end up being the favorite, but for good reason. He has been working out great and looks ready for this race. I don’t think he’ll win but I have him in the Trifecta.

12- My Adonis This is my other longshot bet at 20-1. Not crazy about his post, but he’s had a few good races this year and I could see him finish in the top 4.

Trifecta Box 3-4-5-12

 

 

With the Belmont Stakes only 2 weeks away, this is our initial analysis of the race and the horses we expect to contend.  Will I’ll Have Another make history and win the Triple Crown, or will he just be the next horse in line to lose the final leg after getting America’s hopes up?

One horse that will not stand in his way is Bodemeister. After 2 heartbreaking loses Bob Baffert has said Bodemeister will not run in the Belmont. Baffert has said he is aiming for the Haskell Stakes, at Monmouth Park to be his next race. This would give Bodemeister much needed rest until July 31.

Two horses who could be dangerous in ending I’ll Have Another’s triple crown hopes are Union Rags and Dullahan, neither of which ran in the Preakness Stakes. As posted previously, Union Rags has a new jockey on board for the Belmont, John Velazquez and had the fastest final fractions of any horse in the Derby.  His trainer Michael Matz and owners are blaming his poor Derby finish on jockey Julien Leparoux. So how will Union Rags fair with Velazquez?  Also another contender is Dullahan, the 3rd place finisher in the Derby will enter the Belmont with the same rest. Jerry Crawford, a partner in the stable who owns Dullahan said of his chances “we believe we have a three-year-old ‘Horse of the Year’ candidate and that his future is best served by not asking him to race for the third time in just five weeks in the Preakness.”

Other notable horses in the field are Paynter, trained by Bob Baffert who finished 2nd in the Derby trail back in January. Alpha, another Derby horse who finished 12th but was 2nd in the Wood Memorial coming into the Derby. And don’t count out Julien Leparoux who was booted off Derby favorite Union Rags who will be riding Atigun.

Can any of these horses defeat I’ll Have Another? Or will we see the first Triple Crown since 1978?  In 2 weeks we will all find out!