The third jewel of U.S. horse racing's Triple Crown - the Belmont Stakes - is Saturday in New York with Preakness winner Afleet Alex the 6-5 favorite to win.
Afleet Alex has drawn the number nine post. Only three horses have won the 2.4-kilometer Belmont when they started at the number nine post. Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo is also in the field of 11, three-year-old horses and is listed at 4-1 odds.
Giacomo is attempting to become only the 12th horse in history to win both the Derby and the Belmont. Only one other horse in the field - Andromeda's Hero - ran in either the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness. The horse, trained by Hall of Famer Nick Zito, was eighth in the Derby.
Reverberate is listed as the third favorite (6-1) while Chekhov and Southern Africa are listed at 12-1 odds.
This is the first time in four years that there has not been a possible Triple Crown winner running in the Belmont.
No horse has won all three races - the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes - since Affirmed did it in 1978.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
