Belmont Stakes Betting – Prop Bets & More

Posted Under: News by Jim Murphy on 9th June 2012

Betting on the Belmont Stakes is a tradition that goes back to 1867. To put that into perspective, the first Belmont Stakes took place only two years after the Civil War ended in 1865.

We’re predicting a record crowd for the 2012 race, because people who like to bet on horse races love this event, and the popularity of horse racing is showing a steady rise in popularity. The number of people at the event is always tremendous, even when they’re not breaking record, and the attendees are almost all young and fun-loving—rambunctious, even. We expect the female turnout for the race this year to be higher than ever. More women watched the Kentucky Derby this year than men.

New York tracks have had  a pari-mutuel betting system since 1940, which ate into the business of independent bookies. But online bookmakers like Bovada still offer prop bets to their Internet customers, and some of these types of bets can be a lot of fun. Many of them are unavailable through the traditional pari-mutuel system, too.

In fact, Bovada offers almost two dozen prop bets on today’s event. For example, you can bet on the over/under on the winning time. You can bet on whether the winning time will be over 2:29:00 or under 2:29:00. Another prop bet option at Bovada is whether or not the winner of this year’s race will break Secretariat’s record of 2:24:00.

You can bet on whether or not the winner of the race will win by 1 length or more, or you can bet on whether or not the winner of the race will win by 3 lengths or more. You can bet on the other side of each of those options, too, betting that the winning horse will win by less than 1 length or by less than 3 lengths.

More exotic prop bets available include the option to wager on whether or not there will be an inquiry in the 2012 Belmont Stakes. You can also bet on whether or not the winner will win Wire to Wire.

The rest of the prop bets are head to head matchup bets. The head to head matchups available at Bovada include:

  • Dullahan vs Union Rags
  • Union Rags vs Paynter
  • Street Life vs Paynter
  • Optimizer vs My Adonis
  • Unstoppable U vs Atigun
  • Ravelo’s Boy vs Five Sixteen
  • Unstoppable U vs Optimizer
  • Unstoppable U vs My Adonis
  • Atigun vs Optimizer
  • Atigun vs My Adonis
  • Five Sixteen vs Guyana Star Dweej
  • Ravelo’s Boy vs Guyana Star Dweej
  • Dullahan vs Paynter

Whether you place an online prop bet with a company like Bovada or stick with the pari-mutuel wagering that’s officially available at the track, keep one tip in mind—you should see the race live if you can. It’s more fun and exciting to experience the adrenaline rush and crowd frenzy at this event. It’s like being at a really hot craps table.

But even if you can’t see it live, consider placing a wager anyway. Having money in action on any sporting event ups the ante and makes the event more interesting to watch.