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The Bets You Can Make on the Belmont Stakes
The final leg of this year’s Triple Crown won’t be for the Triple Crown. Cloud Computing won the Preakness Stakes, and Always Dreaming won the Kentucky Derby. But that doesn’t mean the race won’t be exciting. The Belmont Stakes is called the “Test of the Champion” for a reason. Its gruelling 1.5-mile track can be tough on horses. Here’s a look at a few of the bets you can make for this race.
Belmont Stakes: Straight Bets
Straight bets are the simplest bets to make. You have the Win bet, which is betting on a horse to win the race. If they win, you cash in. If not, you don’t. Then you have the Place bet, which is wagering on a horse to finish first or second, and you have the Show bet, which is betting on a horse to finish first, second or third. The place and show bets give you a bigger chance of winning, but offer smaller payouts.
Belmont Stakes: Exotic Bets
Exotic bets are a little more complex. Let’s start with the Quinella bet, which is when you bet on two horses to finish first and second. It doesn’t matter which order they finish in. Then you have the Exacta bet, which is betting on two horses to finish first and second, but they have to be in the exact order you selected. The Trifecta bet is wagering on three horses to finish first, second and third, in the exact order you selected, and the Superfecta bet is picking four horses to finish first, second, third and fourth. Again, they have to be in the order in which you selected them. These types of bets are harder to hit, but the payouts are huge.
Belmont Stakes: Futures & Props
Futures and props give you a couple of other options. A futures bet is an early bet placed on a race. For example, if you’re keeping a close eye on the Kentucky Derby prep trail and think one horse will do well at the Kentucky Derby, you can bet early. Your money will be locked in for a while, but your payout is often higher.
Then you have props, which are fun bets that can be made on any given race. For example, you might see a prop on whether a horse will or won’t finish in the top three or top five. There are also sometimes props on which country the winning horse will be from. Usually, the most common horse racing prop is a head-to-head matchup where you pick which horse will have the better finishing result.
Now that you’re through the primer, check out the horse racing odds for the Belmont Stakes.