Late Odds, Best Bets, and What Angel of Empire, Tapit Trice and National Treasure Have To Do To Beat Forte

The 2023 Belmont Stakes may only feature this mid-tier field, but it’s tightly packed in terms of athleticism and racing ability, and things seem set for a rather heated four-five battle between the best of them from the notorious wide Curves of Belmont. The $1.5 million Race 12 start time is scheduled for 7:02 p.m.; Most of the reddish, suffocating haze from the Canadian wildfires has blown away, and no rain is forecast for the already fast stretch. Race day inevitably raises horse questions, but no race raises horse questions more delicately than the Belmont. Fox will broadcast the race in the US

Before we dive in, a refresher on the odds on the pitch. We will update these throughout the day leading up to release.

Forte missed the derby quite spectacularly, causing him to miss the preakness

(post position, horse, jockey, morning line)

1. Tapit Shoes, Jose Ortiz, 20-1

2. Tapit Trice, Luis Saez, 3-1

3. Arcangelo, Javier Castellano, 8-1

4. National Treasure, John R. Velasquez, 5-1

5. Il Miracolo, Marcos Meneses, 30-1

6. Forte, Irad Ortiz Jr., 5-2

7. Hit Show, Manuel Franco, 10-1

8. Angel of Empire, Flavien Prat, 7-2

9.Red Route One, Joel Rosario, 15-1

(Source: NYRA, 06/09/2023)

As we know, Forte missed the derby quite spectacularly, causing him to miss the preakness and that meant the youth champion suffered an unfortunate 10-week gap in his season. Many have noted the stallion’s maturity and demeanor throughout his sophomore year and early in his third year – in which he defeated eventual Kentucky Derby winner Mage as well as Preakness winner National Treasure – but as we also know, all are three-year olds mature at different rates. There is no stopwatch for puberty. Three-year-olds are still growing.

In other words, the steep improvement curve seen in the Brad-Cox-trained Angel of Empire would be a strong indication of that maturity. And we don’t know – or want to – what that means when Angel of Empire is subjected to the vicissitudes of a mile and a half, but we do know that Angel of Empire is a first-order soil eater, no matter how much soil is thrown at it. he looks hot He just has to do what the other eight horses out there do: stick together longer than ever and beat them all.