Zerillo: My Best Bets For 2019 Belmont Stakes Day

Zerillo: My Best Bets For 2019 Belmont Stakes Day article feature image
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Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Tyler Gaffalione aboard War of Will

  • The 2019 Belmont Stakes takes place on Saturday, June 8 at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
  • Sean Zerillo previews the entire day of races at Belmont Park and gives his favorite betting picks for almost every race.

The 2019 Belmont Stakes takes place today at 6:30 p.m. ET. There's a great day of racing ahead. Let me take you through all of my picks for the graded stakes races:

Zerillo: My Betting Card for 2019 Belmont Stakes Day

Race 3
12:47 p.m. ET

In a small field, I like the No. 3 Grumps Little Tots (12-1) to hit the board at a price. I'll take some action across the board, use him on top in an exacta over the No. 4. Outshine (9-5) and No. 3 Dream Maker (6-1),and also use the three together to begin both a pick three and daily double.

Pick: 3 over 2,4

Race 4
1:22 p.m. ET

No. 4 Rushing Fall (4-5) is the horse to beat here in a good field. I'll single her in multi-race wagers, and play an additional daily double with Race 5.

Pick: 4

Race 5
2:01 p.m. ET

No. 2 Midnight Bisou (1-1) is the clear division leader amongst the older females on dirt. I think Steve Asmussen has her ready to fire, and in addition to singling her at the bottom of multi-race wagers, I'll also use her on top of an exacta and a trifecta over the No. 1 Come Dancing (6-5) and the No. 4 Escape Clause (9-2).

Pick: 2 over 1, 4

Race 6
2:41 p.m. ET

The $2 Pick 6 starts in Race 6, but it's a bet that I'll be avoiding. The next 3-4 races are minefields, and I'll save up for the $0.50 Pick 4 in Race 8.

If I play this race, I'll look to take the No. 3 Dirty (12-1) or No. 7 Belvoir Bay (5-1) to hit the board.

Pick: 8 over 3,6,7

Race 7
3:22 p.m. ET

There's five horses (1,3,7,8,9) that I like in here, so I'll look to box them and hit a superfecta ($12 ticket).

Like my colleague Paul Lo Duca, I think the No. 9 Ce Ce (9-2) can pull the upset in this race and will also look to make a win bet.

Pick: 9 over 8,1,7,3

Race 8
4:04 p.m. ET

The start of the Pick 4 is a big spread race for me. I'll take five horses in here, though the No. 9 Mind Control (5-2) should dominate if he runs his best race.

I like the No. 1 Honest Mischief (6-1),  No. 4 Complexity (4-1),and No. 6 Nitrous (10-1) quite a bit, and think that one of them can pull off the upset.

I'll also use the No. 2, Bob Baffert's Much Better (5-1).

Pick: 1 over 6,9,4,2

Race 9
4:46 p.m. ET

The Met Mile is typically a special race, and this is a particularly fantastic edition. Ultimately, I think that this race boils down to the No. 2 McKinzie (5-2) and No. 3 Mitole (3-1).

Horses cutting back in distance, as opposed to those stretching out, have had the advantage recently in the Met Mile. That would point the advantage toward McKinzie, but I think Mitole is a truly special horse and expect a statement win from him on Saturday.

At 3-1 or better, Mitole might be my only $50 win bet of the day.

I'll use both horses and also take the No. 7 Firenze Fire (4-1), the horse for the course having never lost at Belmont.

Pick: 3 over 2,7,4

Race 10
5:36 p.m. ET

Chad Brown has four entrants in the Manhattan, but there's only two that interest me.

The No. 8 Bricks and Mortar (7-5) is worth singling on some tickets, but I'll also use the No. 3 Robert Bruce (6-1), who should appreciate the firm turf, and Bill Mott's No. 10 Channel Maker (9-2), who is always game no matter the race.

Pick: 8 over 3,10,7

Race 11: The Belmont Stakes
6:37 p.m. ET

I'll finish off the Pick 4 with both favorites in the Belmont Stakes, No. 10 Tacitus (5-2) and No. 9 War of Will (2-1). I think that you have to use both in multi-race wagers, and I'm keying both together to hit the board in trifectas and superfectas.

You can make an argument for pretty much every other horse in the field, but I'm most comfortable playing the two favorites to hit the board together with some price horses around them.

My favorite price horses to use underneath are the No. 6 Spinoff (15-1), and No. 7 Sir Winston (12-1).

Read more about how you can use this strategy to structure some trifecta and superfecta tickets.

Pick: 10 over 6,9,7

Pick-4 

Race 8: 1,2,4,6,9
Race 9: 2,3,7
Race 10: 3,8,10
Race 11: 9, 10

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