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

The 2024 Triple Crown schedule will come to a close on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in New York. The Belmont Stakes 2024 will take place at the track, with the distance shortened to 1 1/4 miles to accommodate a move from normal host Belmont Park. Despite a shorter 2024 Belmont Stakes distance, stamina will still reign supreme. That gives potential 2024 Belmont Stakes sleepers like Protective and Honor Marie a chance, even though they have the lowest speed figures of the 2024 Belmont Stakes horses at 97.

Protective is the biggest longshot at 20-1, while Honor Marie comes in at 12-1 in the 2024 Belmont Stakes odds. If speed is your forte, then Mindframe (7-2) stands out since no one tops his 111 speed figure. The favorite, according to the latest Belmont Stakes odds 2024, is Sierra Leone (9-5) who posted a 106 speed figure. 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 was the horse's third graded stakes race over a mile in distance, and he disappointed in the prior two. He finished third in a Grade 3 race in March that had a relatively soft field and then was seventh in a Grade 1 race in April. Additionally, Seize the Grey's lone graded stakes race as a juvenile saw him finish fourth at the Iroquois Stakes.

While trainer D. Wayne Lukas is a four-time Belmont champion, his last victory came at the turn of the century. He has come close to winning again just once since, as of his last 10 Belmont starters, only one has hit the board. Since his last win, Lukas has had more horses finish 10th or worse (two) than inside the top four (one). With Seize the Grey seeing much more speed at Saratoga than he saw at Pimlico, he's one to avoid with horse racing bets considering his relatively short odds.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