The 147th Belmont Stakes takes place this Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The Belmont Stakes official start time is 6:50 pm ET. There are a few Longshots in the event, including Keen Ice, who has been installed as 20/1 Odds to win the race.
Keen Ice's Record: 1-0-2 in 8 Races. Trainer: Dale Romans. Jockey: Kent Desormeaux Sire: Curlin. Dam: Medomak. Best Beyer Speed: 88
Keen Ice drew the 7th slot in the gate. The Trainer for Keen Ice is Dale Romans, who comes has compiled 1794 wins in his career, but has just 25 wins this year. Dale won the Most Outstanding Trainer award back in 2012 and has never won the Belmont Stakes, but he does have three 3rd place finishes in this race. In 2011 he won his first Triple Crown race when Shackleford captured The Preakness Stakes. 2012 was a banner year for the Romans stable with wins by Shackleford in the G-1 Met Mile and G-1 Clark Handicap and Little Mike's gallant victories in the G-1 Woodford Reserve, Arlington Million and Breeders' Cup Turf. He earned 11 million dollars in 2012 alone.
Riding Keen Ice will be Kent Desormeaux, who has 5661 career wins, including 38 this year. Kent did win the 2009 Belmont Stakes, while riding Summer Bird. Twice in his career has he won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, but has yet to win it. He was inducted into the hall of fame in 2004 and won the Most Outstanding Jockey Award (Eclipse Award) in 1989 and 1992. Other top horses include Paddy O'Prado, Summer Bird, Dullahan, and C. S. Silk.
This is not a very fast horse, but he did have a nice showing at the Derby with his 7th place finish. He did display the sort of closing speed a horse needs to keep up with the best of a winded field in New York. This is a horse that American Pharoah does need to be wary of, even despite his long odds. If the top horses start to lose gas down the stretch, and Keen Ice hits his stride at that moment, then it will make the finish in New York much more entertaining than the Preakness.
INFO TAKEN FROM BELMONTSTAKES.COM AND BLEACHER REPORT
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Beating the Belmont for Beginners
Steve Fezzik and Teddy Covers are pro bettors, but both admit they aren't much for horse racing betting. They say that isn't a requirement to bet the Belmont though. Since American Pharoah is going for the Triple Crown, something we haven't seen since Affirmed in 1978, simply bet the field to win and you'll succeed. There have been 12 Triple Crown Contenders in the past 20 years and none of them have won, so the guys are more than comfortable to take the "no-win" bet on American Pharoah. Avoid the media hype about the special horse, there are too many horse "assassins" in the field and history shows it is a bad bet.