Belmont Stakes 2022: Post Positions, Odds and Race Schedule for Elmont
The third jewel of the 2022 Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing is already upon us, and though there's no Triple Crown title on the table, everyone's favorite dark horse Kentucky Derby winner, Rich Strike, is back in the mix at Belmont Park.
Rich Strike's team, including jockey Sonny Leon and trainer Eric Reed, held him out of the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes. That was won by Early Voting, ridden by Jose Ortiz and trained by Chad Brown.
But he's back for the Belmont Stakes, and the question on everyone's minds is whether lightning can strike twice in the same place.
Let's take a look at the just-released post positions for Saturday's race in Elmont, New York, and the morning-line odds to get a better feel for the field of eight horses that will run in the Belmont Stakes.
Post time for the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes is 6:44 p.m. ET Saturday, with race coverage on NBC kicking off on CNBC from 3-5 p.m. ET on CNBC and moving to NBC at 5 p.m. ET.
Post Positions and Odds
Belmont Stakes 2022 Post Position Draw and Odds
1. We the People, Rodolphe Brisset, Flavien Prat, 2-1
2. Skippylongstocking, Saffie Joseph Jr., Manny Franco, 20-1
3. Nest, Todd Pletcher, Jose Ortiz, 8-1
4. Rich Strike, Eric Reed, Sonny Leon, 7-2
5. Creative Minister, Kenny McPeek, Brian Hernandez Jr., 6-1
6. Mo Donegal, Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr., 5-2
7. Golden Glider, Mark Casse, Dylan Davis, 20-1
8. Barber Road, John Ortiz, Joel Rosario, 10-1
Odds per BelmontStakes.com
Belmont Stakes Contenders
While Rich Strike is indeed back for a second leg of the Triple Crown, he's not the favorite in the morning-line odds. That would be We the People at 2-1. The three-year-old, who is trained by Rodolphe Brisset and will be ridden by Flavien Prat, drew the No. 1 post Tuesday morning.
We the People, who has tallied $230,250 in lifetime earnings, most recently ran at Belmont Park on May 14 in the Grade 3 Peter Pan and won.
Mo Donegal, who finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby, is the second-favorite horse to win at Belmont (5-2), with Rich Strike rounding out the top three contenders at 7-2. Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting is not running in the Belmont Stakes.
Mo Donegal is trained by Todd Pletcher and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. He has $711,800 in lifetime earnings.
Part of the reason Rich Strike is not favored to win the Belmont Stakes is that the conditions that allowed him to surge ahead in the Kentucky Derby will not be repeated in Elmont. The field for the Belmont Stakes includes only one speedster in We the People. So, Rich Strike, a closer, won't be able to take advantage of pace the way he was able to at Churchill Downs.
In all, three of the top six finishers in the Kentucky Derby are in the field for the Belmont Stakes, including winner Rich Strike, sixth-place finisher Barber Road and fifth-place finisher Mo Donegal.
Preakness third-place finisher Creative Minister will also try to finish in the money again on Saturday.
Skippylongstocking finished fifth in the Preakness, and filly Nest, trained by Todd Pletcher, finished second in the Kentucky Oaks behind Secret Oath.
Rounding out the field, Golden Glider finished second in the Peter Pan at Belmont on May 14, just 10ΒΌ lengths behind We the People.