Here’s all you need to know about the race: 

• Post time: 7:02 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 10
• Location: Belmont Park in Elmont, New York
• Race Distance: 1½ miles
• Purse: $1.5 million
• TV Channel: FOX
• More: 2023 Belmont long shot picks

Anyone looking to bet on the race can also take advantage of our FanDuel Belmont promotion, which offers $20 back to any customer who places and loses a win bet on Saturday’s race. 

The $1.5 million Belmont Stakes headlines the year’s biggest day of racing at historic Belmont Park with nine graded stakes races on Saturday, June 10.

This year’s 1½ mile race is expected to have a moderate pace with National Treasure out front and Forte pressing him.

The nine-horse field includes six main win contenders who are quite evenly matched. Here are the odds as of Thursday, June 8: 

• Forte (5/2)
• Tapit Trice (3/1)
• National Treasure (5/1)
• Arcangelo (8/1)
• Angel of Empire (7/2)
• Hit Show (10/1)

Both frontrunners #6 Forte (5/2) and #4 National Treasure (5/1) are win contenders but become slightly less appealing when having to make cuts for the win and adding exacta, trifecta and superfecta bets.

Forte has not raced since winning the Florida Derby on April 1, as he was the Kentucky Derby favorite but got scratched the morning of the race (hoof).

National Treasure enters off a win in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico a few weeks back. 

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Keep in mind that over the last 17 years, there have been 10 horses win this race with Belmont Stakes odds of 6/1 or greater, and eight of the winners were double-digit odds at post time.

But the race day post-time favorite has won each of the last three Belmont Stakes, and also in 2018 and 2015 when Justify and American Pharoah won the Belmont Stakes to complete the Triple Crown.

For more daily sports betting tips and coverage, visit FrontPageBets.com

Here’s how to bet the race using $100, including some picks to win and Belmont Stakes exotic bets to add a potential bigger payoff.

The galloping gray Tapit Trice will relish the added ground and distance with the sweeping Belmont Park turns.

His sire Tapit has produced four Belmont Stakes winners, and leading Belmont Park trainer Todd Pletcher has been conditioning this colt for this race throughout 2023.

Jockey Luis Saez is an outstanding rider, and Tapit Trice owns the balanced energy distribution and stamina profile of horses that win this race.

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If he can run a little closer to the pace within 3-4 lengths down the backstretch, this colt should finish off the front runners with the added distance in his favor.

Note: Bettors win both wagers if the selected horse wins the race, but only the place bet if he finishes in second place.

No issues if you prefer #8 Angel of Empire and add a win bet on him, but we’ll add him to our exacta and trifecta bets.

Arcangelo won the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes last month at Belmont in his stakes debut is improving, maturing and gaining strength at the right time.

This colt is a son of the great Arrogate, who also developed late in his 3-year-old campaign and went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Arcangelo is ridden by jockey Javier Castellano for a third time, and Castellano won this year’s Kentucky Derby aboard Mage.

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The 45-year-old Venezuelan rider has finished 2nd in the Belmont Stakes three times. There is a concern with a lack of foundation and just four starts without more competition in graded stakes.

But Arcangelo has a strong turn of foot which will be an advantage given the expected moderate pace, and he offers greater value in your win wagers and payoffs including show bets (3rd) and exacta, trifecta, superfecta and pick 3’s.

With such a competitive field at the top, the exacta, trifecta and superfecta bets are more appealing for bigger payouts.

An exacta bet is picking the correct order of finish 1st and 2nd, while a trifecta bet is picking the correct order of finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd. A superfecta bet is picking the correct order of finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

• Belmont Stakes exacta pick (first and second place in exact order): $3 Exacta #2, #3 with #2, 3, 7, 8 ($18)
• Belmont Stakes exacta pick: $2 Exacta #2, 3, 8 with #2, 3, 6, 7, 8 ($24)
• Belmont Stakes trifecta pick: $1 Trifecta #2, 3, 8 with #2, 3, 8 with #2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 ($24)

We’re eliminating the favorite Forte from win wagers, and most exacta bets. But #7 Hit Show should be included as the top longshot of those 10/1 or greater.

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Hit Show finished 5th in the Kentucky Derby, but he took a lot of heat for the first mile while posting strong speed figures.

He flattened out over the final eighth of a mile, but gets a better pace scenario in the Belmont Stakes for trainer Brad Cox, who’s 30% win rate this year is best of all trainers. Hit Show offers a favorable risk/reward value proposition.

Handicapping and evaluating the horses for the 1 ½ mile “Test of the Champion” involves more factors including pedigree. FanDuel Racing adds some key pointers when making your Belmont Stakes picks.

• Don’t look exclusively at the speed figures

The 3-year-olds are gaining strength, maturing and improving if healthy. We may not see a horse’s best race until later this year. But how they handle the 1 ½ mile marathon along with the surface at ‘Big Sandy’ and it’s big sweeping turns makes for more evaluation than just speed figures.

Expert handicappers evaluate more video replays, training patterns and information while determining how a horse runs and not just the finishing position, distance or track.

The Kentucky Derby is often the best gauge when evaluating horses for the Belmont Stakes. The local prep Peter Pan Stakes is next with some later developing horses that missed or didn’t qualify for the Kentucky Derby as one’s to watch and not just dismiss. If they have quality breeding and class, it’s proven to matter more based on some of the longshot winners over the past 17-20 years.

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• Look for and identify value

Don’t go chasing longshots with bigger odds without reason. Understand and evaluate the risk/reward on contenders and potential longshots.

As you dig deeper into past performance and anticipate improvement from horses, you’ll learn to “buy low and sell high” on more runners and identify value while including those runners in other bets like exotics for a bigger payoff.

In the end, remember it’s a horse race with often unexplained results. Betting on horses and the races is a risk with more entertainment value than profit potential for a vast majority of fans and bettors.

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FairwayJay has years of experience reporting, researching and writing on sports industry news and events, providing insight and information you can bet on to engage and assist the avid fan. FairwayJay’s tee-to-green coverage and contributions are provided throughout the PlayUSA network. Follow on Twitter: @FairwayJay