Mystic Dan has the chance to become the first horse since Thunder Gulch in 1995 to win the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes without winning the Preakness when the 2024 Belmont Stakes takes place on Saturday. The Belmont Stakes 2024 moves off its traditional home on Long Island to Saratoga Race Course this year due to renovations at Belmont Park. Only two horses since 1980 have won the first and last leg of the Triple Crown without winning all three. Mystic Dan is 5-1 in the latest 2024 Belmont Stakes odds after finishing second at the Preakness Stakes, so is there value in including him in 2024 Belmont Stakes bets?
Sierra Leone is the 9-5 favorite followed by Mindframe at 7-2. Seize the Grey is 6-1 among the 2024 Belmont Stakes horses, with the rest of the 2024 Belmont Stakes field listed at 10-1 or longer to win the final leg of the Triple Crown with a post time of 6:41 p.m. ET. Before making any 2024 Belmont Stakes picks, be sure to see the horse racing predictions and futures bets from SportsLine’s elite horse racing expert Jody Demling.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling enters the 2024 Belmont Stakes having nailed the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last six years, including an exacta in 2022 with Mo Donegal and Nest. He also called Flightline’s win at the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November of that year.
Demling is at his best in the biggest horse races in the world like the Belmont Stakes 2024. In fact, he has hit 11 of the last 16 Derby-Oaks doubles at Churchill Downs. He’s also called 10 of the last 20 Preakness winners, including nailing his Preakness winner, exacta, trifecta and superfecta picks in 2023 and then the trifecta again in 2024. Anyone who has followed him is up huge.
Now, with the 2024 Belmont Stakes approaching, Demling is sharing his picks and 2024 Belmont Stakes predictions over at SportsLine. Go here to see them.
Top 2024 Belmont Stakes predictions
One of Demling’s surprising 2024 Belmont Stakes picks: He is high on Antiquarian, even though he’s a 12-1 longshot. Antiquarian has improved his speed figures with each of his last three races, a trend you’d want to see in horses without much racing experience, capping off with a 100 Beyer Speed Figure at his victory at the Peter Pan Stakes to qualify for the 2024 Belmont Stakes. Antiquarian had an 80 at his maiden victory in his second career race and improved that to 92 at the Louisiana Derby.
Antiquarian didn’t run his first race until this January. Top horses in the 2024 Belmont Stakes field such as Sierra Leone and Fierceness ran multiple races in 2023, so that exposure and experience have allowed more opportunities at victories and have attracted more wagers their way. But Antiquarian has won two of four career races and also has a runner-up result on his resume, so he’s shown the ability to win in his limited sample size. Antiquarian’s speed improvements in each race are promising and at 12-1 odds, Demling sees Antiquarian as a longshot with value. See which other horses to back at SportsLine.
How to make 2024 Belmont Stakes picks, bets
Demling is also especially high on an underdog, even though he is coming off a bust in his last race. Demling is sharing which horse it is, and is revealing his surprising prediction for Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey, along with his entire projected 2024 Belmont Stakes leaderboard, over at SportsLine.
Which horse wins the Belmont Stakes 2024, where does Seize the Grey finish, and which dark-horse is a must-back? Check out the latest 2024 Belmont Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling’s picks for the Belmont Stakes, all from the expert who nailed 11 Derby-Oaks doubles and just hit the trifecta at the Preakness.
