Belmont Stakes kicks off the Triple Crown Saturday
(CNN) — You may not be able to sip mint juleps at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, for the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes, but the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown kicks off this weekend after being postponed for two weeks.
The race was originally slated to take place on June 6.
Typically the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes will be first leg for the first time in history.
Traditionally, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes preceded the Belmont Stakes, but those two races were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Kentucky Derby is expected to take place on September 5, while the Preakness Stakes is scheduled for October 3.
What’s different
The entire race will take place without spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic. There will still be a live broadcast of the entire event.
The race has also been shortened from a mile and a half to a mile and an eighth, as the Belmont Stakes is typically the final race and also the longest of the three.
The race was shortened to “properly account for the schedule adjustments to the Triple Crown series and overall calendar for 3-year-olds in training,” the New York Racing Association said in a statement.
Betting odds
- Tiz the Law (6-5)
- Sole Volante (9-2)
- Dr Post (5-1)
- Tap It to Win (6-1)
- Pneumatic (8-1)
- Max Player (15-1)
- Modernist (15-1)
- Farmington Road (15-1)
- Fore Left (30-1)
- Jungle Runner (50-1)