2024 Belmont Stakes contenders, odds, horses, post positions: Surprising picks, prediction by racing insider (2024)

The 2024 Belmont Stakes will be held on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. There are other races on the 2024 Belmont Stakes card, including the Met Mile and Manhattan Stakes, which are run at shorter distances than the Belmont, while the Jaipur and Ogden Phipps Stakes are open to horses aged 4 and older. The Belmont Stakes 2024 will run at a distance of 1 1/4 miles and restricted to 3-year-old horses. The 2024 Belmont Stakes favorite is Sierra Leone, who won the Blue Grass Stakes and was the runner-up in the Kentucky Derby. He is 9-5, edging out Mindframe (7-2) in the Belmont Stakes 2024 odds.

Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan is 5-1 among the 2024 Belmont Stakes entries, while Preakness champion Seize the Grey is 8-1. Post time is 6:41 p.m. ET. With several accomplished horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want tosee what Santa Anita Park-based racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2024 Belmont Stakes picks.

Few people in racing are as well-connected as Yu. An on-air host and reporter who has provided racing analysis for TVG, HRTV and the Breeders' Cup, Yu has spent a lifetime in racing. Prior to her television career, she worked for trainers Steve Asmussen and Ron Moquett. She also is married to Santa Anita-based trainer Ryan Hanson.

Yu also has tremendous handicapping chops. In a wide-open Kentucky Derby in 2021, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1. In Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager two years ago, she suggested a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at a whopping 18-1 when Rich Strike won the Derby.

Last year she crushed the Saudi Cup, riding 15-1 winner Panthalassa. She also smashed the Haskell Stakes for a $663 score, hitting 12-1 winner Geaux Rocket Ride as well as the exacta. Those were just two of her scores in 2023.

She enters this year's Belmont Stakes on a roll. She correctly called National Treasure to win the Pegasus World Cup. In the last two months, she predicted Stronghold's upset win in the Santa Anita Derby, en route to a $219.50 payday, and smashed the exacta in the Apple Blossom Handicap as part of a $410 score.

For the final leg of the Triple Crown, Yu has handicapped the 2024 Belmont Stakes lineup, made her picks and constructed her best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.

Top 2024 Belmont Stakes predictions

One surprise: Yu is fading Seize the Grey, even though he is coming off a win in the Preakness Stakes. You have to wonder if a hectic schedule will catch up to Seize the Grey at the Belmont, which will be his longest race. He already has 10 starts under his belt, while the other nine 2024 Belmont Stakes contenders have averaged just 5.4 races. He's raced every month since February and is coming off two starts in May, so fatigue could be an issue for a horse who's never competed at 1 1/4 miles.

It's also important to note that Seize the Grey's Preakness win came in off-track conditions at a muddy track. His other two races of at least 1 1/8 miles were on fast surfaces and he underperformed in each, finishing seventh in the Blue Grass Stakes and third in the Jeff Ruby Steaks. Additionally, while he broke maiden at Saratoga, his last start at the track saw him finish third in a listed stakes race against softercompetition.You can see all of Yu's 2024 Belmont Stakes bets here.

How to make 2024 Belmont Stakes picks

Instead, Yu's top pick is a horse who "has been training forwardly." She also has identified a double-digit longshot who is a strong "longshot play." She has made her 2024 Belmont Stakes bets, and she'ssharing which 2024 Belmont Stakes horses to back only at SportsLine.

So who wins the 2024 Belmont Stakes? What double-digit longshot is a must-play? And how has Yu constructed her wagers?Visit SportsLine to see Yu's picks for the Belmont Stakes 2024, all from the Santa Anita Park-based racing insider who has been red-hot all year, and find out.

2024 Belmont Stakes odds, contenders