Belmont Stakes Odds: Irish War Cry Leads Pack In Final Triple Crown Race

With early favorite Classic Empire scratched due to a foot injury, Irish War Cry has taken over the top of the Belmont Stakes odds as the +300 betting favorite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com to capture the third jewel in this year’s Triple Crown.

Irish War Cry has emerged as the favorite for Saturday afternoon’s 149th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., despite turning in the worst performance of his career in last month’s Kentucky Derby, where he finished a distant 10th after entering the race among the favorites with short +600 odds.

The Graham Notion-trained colt largely had dominated during a five-race stretch prior to the Run for the Roses, winning on four occasions, including an impressive victory in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in early April.

Despite being listed as questionable for Saturday’s race, Epicharis continues to sit near the top of the 2017 Belmont Stakes odds, closely trailing Irish War Cry at +350. Scheduled to start from the No. 11 post, Epicharis has been dogged by a hoof issue and didn’t train Friday, but finished a strong second in his last outing at the UAE Derby in late March.

The lone horse in the Belmont Stakes field that also competed in this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes is Lookin at Lee, who will start alongside Irish War Cry from the No. 6 post, and enters the weekend sporting +550 odds.

Lookin at Lee surprised with a second-place finish as a +2200 bet at Churchill Downs, but had to settle for fourth place in the Preakness following a slow start, and has finished no higher than second in eight career races longer than seven furlongs.

A third-place finish at the Preakness Stakes has buoyed Senior Investment’s odds for Saturday, which have climbed to +650, while a well-rested Tapwrit rounds out the top of the Belmont Stakes odds at +750.

Senior Investment followed up a win in the Lexington Stakes by finishing on the board at Pimlico, and will start on the outside of favorite Irish War Cry on Saturday, from the No. 8 post. One of two Todd Pletcher-trained colts in Saturday’s race, along with Patch, Tapwrit skipped the Preakness after finishing sixth in the Kentucky Derby as a +1600 bet.

Gormley finished ninth at Churchill Downs and trails at +1200 in Belmont Stakes betting, followed by Meantime at +1400 and J Boys Echo, who joins Multiplier at +1600. Twisted Tom is listed at +2000, ahead of Patch, who starts on the extreme outside sporting +2500 odds, while Hollywood Handsome is pegged as a +3300 longshot.