On Saturday at 6:39 p.m. ET, a field of 10 will rush from the starting gate in the 2018 Belmont Stakes. Whereas the Kentucky Derby was held in the slop and the Preakness took place in a dense fog, the sun is shining brightly in New York for the Belmont Stakes. Justify, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Hall of Famer Mike Smith, will try to become just the 13th winner ever of horse racing's Triple Crown and the first since Baffort's American Pharoah in 2015. Hofburg, Bravazo, and Vino Rosso are second on the 2018 Belmont Stakes odds board at 6-1.
Before you bet the 150th Belmont Stakes, you'll want to hear what Jody Demling has to say.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling comes into the 2018 Belmont on a hot streak. Last year, he correctly picked Tapwrit, a 5-1 underdog, to upset Irish War Cry, the 5-2 favorite.
He also put Tapwrit on top of his exotics and hit the superfecta, which paid out almost $4,500 on a $2 bet.
Demling is at his best in the biggest horse races in the world. He has hit 10 straight Oaks-Derby doubles at Churchill Downs. That means he held a ticket with the winners of both races 10 straight years.
Demling followed up last year's Kentucky Derby win by successfully calling Cloud Computing as one of his long shots with a chance to win the Preakness. Sure enough, Cloud Computer galloped to victory as a 13-1 long shot last year. Then, he hit the 1-2 finish at Belmont Park.
After hitting the Travers Stakes winner and top two finishers in the Pegasus World Cup, Demling called Noble Indy winning the Louisiana Derby over favorite My Boy Jack. He also nailed the top two finishers at the Arkansas Derby and predicted the 1-2 finish of the Man O' War Stakes at Belmont. And at the Preakness, he backed Justify despite a heel injury and off-track.
With major sports books taking plenty of action, Demling has studied the post draw and revealed his Belmont Stakes 2018 picks and listed where he believes every horse will finish.
Demling knows Justify becoming the first Triple Crown winner since American Pharoah will be a tall task, especially after he drew the rail position.
"He's done absolutely nothing wrong in his short career and has looked full of energy in his training sessions this week at Churchill Downs," Demling told SportsLine. "But the thing that has me a bit worried is the last horse to win the Belmont drawing the rail was Empire Maker in 2003 -- in a six-horse field. And he'll face several horses who are much fresher."
Demling is giving away his pick for where Justify finishes only over at SportsLine.
We can tell you that Demling is high on Vino Rosso, one of a trio of colts going off at 6-1.
"I re-watched his Derby run," Demling told SportsLine. "He was wide the entire race, but kept running down the stretch at Churchill Downs. He has had a few weeks off and will be fresh for the 1.5-mile Belmont Stakes."
Vino Rosso took ninth in the Kentucky Derby, but won the Wood Memorial in April and hit the board in the Tampa Bay Derby and Sam F. Davis Stakes earlier this year. His trainer, Todd Pletcher, has won the Belmont Stakes three times, including last year with Tapwrit. According to his owner, Mike Repole, Vino Rosso was "bred for this race."
Demling is also high on a big long shot he says has a "legit chance to win this race" that would net any backer a colossal windfall. Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected leaderboard, over at SportsLine.
What are Jody Demling's Belmont Stakes picks? And what long shot should you jump on? Check out the latest Belmont Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling's picks for the Belmont.
Justify 1-1
Hofburg 6-1
Bravazo 6-1
Vino Rosso 6-1
Tenfold 9-1
Blended Citizen 21-1
Gronkowski 22-1
Noble Indy 24-1
Free Drop Billy 25-1
Restoring Hope 28-1