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

On Saturday, Saratoga Race Course will host the 2024 Belmont Stakes, thus becoming the fifth track to welcome the Third Jewel of the Triple Crown. All five have been in New York State, while one of the 2024 Belmont Stakes horses can claim home-field advantage. The Wine Steward is the only Belmont Stakes 2024 entry who was bred in New York, and he was victorious in his previous start at Saratoga last August. Whatever advantage that gives him isn't reflected in the 2024 Belmont Stakes odds, as he's one of the biggest longshots at 15-1.

Only Protective (20-1) is a bigger longshot in the 2024 Belmont Stakes field. Sierra Leone, a Kentucky-bred horse who broke maiden at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York, is the 9-5 favorite. Others who could figure heavily into 2024 Belmont Stakes bets include Mindframe (7-2) and Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (5-1). 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. That win came on a muddy track, but in the horse's previous start on a muddy track, which was at Saratoga last August, he finished a disappointing third in a nine-horse field. The 2024 Belmont at Saratoga will be Seize the Grey's third start in five weeks, so fatigue could be a concern. That's because the Blue Grass Stakes in April was his third race over a five-week stretch, and the horse finished in seventh place.

While trainer D. Wayne Lukas is a four-time Belmont champion, jockey Jaime Torres will make his Belmont debut on Saturday. Seize the Grey displayed a career-best 101 speed figure in his Preakness win, but that still only ranks fifth among the 2024 Belmont Stakes contenders. Yu doesn't see much value in the horse, telling SportsLine, "I didn't think Seize the Grey could win the Preakness so it's hard for me to pick him to win the Belmont stretching out in distance."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