Everything is different now.
Instead of being the final leg of horse racing’s storied Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes is the first. And the action will begin Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The race has also been shortened from 1.5 miles to a mile and an eighth since the horses have had fewer races to prepare during the coronavirus pandemic.
The race will also be held without fans and without on-track betting, so horse racing wagers must be placed online. But the good news is that PABets (TVG) is loading up a number of promotions for bettors in Pennsylvania.
TVG offering a risk-free bet for new players in PA
Television coverage of the 2020 Belmont Stakes will begin at 2:45 p.m. Saturday on NBC. Post time for the race is expected to be at 5:42 p.m. And TVG is providing plenty of reasons to get in on the action.
New players can get a risk-free $300 bet. After making your first deposit, your first single-horse win wager (or win portion of a win/place or win/place/show) will be refunded to your account (up to $300 in total bet cost) if it loses.
There’s also a money-back special for all the Belmont races. If your first win wager finishes in second or third, you’ll receive cash back up to $10.
New York-bred Tiz the Law is the Belmont favorite
Early betting favorite Tiz the Law has won four of five starts, including this year’s Holy Bull Stakes (Grade 3) and the Florida Derby (Grade 1), which he won by 4 1/4 lengths.
Tiz the Law starts out with odds of 6/5 and breaks from the No. 8 post position on Saturday.
As noted by NBCSports, Tiz the Law is aiming to be the first NY-bred horse to win the Belmont Stakes since 1882 (when Forrester won it).
Sole Volante enters at 9-2 with a win earlier this month
Oddsmakers also like Sole Volante in Saturday’s race. The horse won a race earlier this month at Gulfstream Park in Florida and enters the Belmont Stakes with 9-2 odds. The New York Post recently reported on his momentum. Sole Volante starts Saturday from the No. 2 post.
Tap It To Win also has some things working in his favor. In addition to a lineage that includes a second-place finisher at the 2002 Belmont, his trainer, Mark Casse, won last year’s race. Tap It To Win is currently 6-1, according to TVG’s Belmont odds.
Winning trainer has two horses in the Belmont Stakes
Trainer Todd Pletcher already owns three victories in the Belmont Stakes. On Saturday, he’ll have two horses aiming for his fourth title. The first, Dr. Post, is viewed as one of the favorites, with 5-1 odds. He will start the race right next to Tiz the Law in the No. 9 post.
Farmington Road is another intriguing horse a little farther down the odds list. In addition to having Pletcher as his trainer, the horse’s owner captured the 2017 Belmont with Tapwrit. But those connections haven’t produced consistent success on the track for Farmington Road. The horse has won just once in six starts and has 15-1 odds entering Saturday’s race.
Belmont Stakes current live odds, where to watch
The complete list of horses and their odds are available via the table below.
| Post Position | Horse | Jockey | Morning Line Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bourbonic | Kendrick Carmouche | 15-1 |
| 2 | Essential Quality | Luis Saez | 2-1 |
| 3 | Rombauer | John Velazquez | 3-1 |
| 4 | Hot Rod Charlie | Flavien Prat | 7-2 |
| 5 | France Go De Ina | Ricardo Santana Jr. | 30-1 |
| 6 | Known Agenda | Irad Ortiz Jr. | 6-1 |
| 7 | Rock Your World | Joel Rosario | 9-2 |
| 8 | Overtook | Manny Franco | 20-1 |
| Get a $300 Risk-Free Bet at TVG! |
FanDuel and DraftKings are also offering some free horse racing pools on their daily fantasy sites to give you another entry point into the action. And there’s online horse wagering available at FanDuel Racing as well.
Coverage of the Belmont Stakes begins at 2:45 p.m. on NBC, NBCSports.com and the NBCSports app. The first race posts at 11:45 a.m.
A very welcome Triple Crown race
Just like the rest of the sports world, horse racing’s schedule has encountered its share of chaos in the last few months. The Kentucky Derby got moved to September. The Preakness will be held in October. But the Belmont Stakes, one of the sport’s most storied races, returns on Saturday.
The horses will be on the track. The betting slips — even if the bets are made online — will be in hand.
The suspense will build. The bell will go off. The race will go on.
And it will be a welcome sight for all of us.
