Belmont Stakes Odds, Picks & Complete 2022 Handicapping Guide

By Adam Thompson

Mar 14th, 2024 7:22 AM EST

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Bookies.com handicapper Adam Thompson crushed horse racing in 2021. If you bet $5 on the picks for the 2021 TVG Pacific Classic, your account would be $232 fatter.

That’s just the latest in a string of horse racing betting successes for Thompson, who won $480 on a $10 wager at the 2021 Preakness Stakes and hit the exacta at the Belmont Stakes, taking $75 on a $10 bet.

Now he has set his sights on the 2022 Belmont Stakes. The eight-horse field features shocking Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, at 80-1 the biggest long shot on the track back in May, but is without Preakness Stakes champion Early Voting.

Belmont Stakes 2022 Odds

Belmont Stakes morning line odds via TVG

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2022 Belmont Stakes Betting Tips

The Kentucky Derby didn’t go well for most bettors after Rich Strike pulled the rug from Epicenter and Zandon. It pulled the rug from us, as well; I had Epicenter and Zandon at the top of all my picks. We also missed on Epicenter and Early Voting in the Preakness; they finished second and third. With near-misses in the majors plus nice wins on other grades stakes events, it’s a sign we are very much on the right path.

The horse racing odds for the weekend’s Belmont Stakes have three horses near the top of the morning line odds at TwinSpires, among other betting websites.

Mo Donegal (#6, 5-2 morning line odds) is the top horse for trainer Todd Pletcher, who has three Belmont Stakes wins. This is his home course and he’s more suited for the longer distance here. The horse took a slightly disappointing fifth at the Derby, but prior to that he beat the likes of Early Voting and Skippylongstocking to win the Grade 2 Wood Memorial. The Derby is the only time Mo Donegal has finished outside the top three.

Creative Minister (#5, 6-1) is still a bit of a mystery, with just four career races, all since March. He won the two races prior to the Preakness before taking third there to two horses that won’t be racing at Belmont. The competition prior wasn’t that strong, but the improvements were very tangible.

Nest (#3, 8-1), another Pletcher entrant, faces longer odds as a filly. Only two female horses have ever won the race but one of them was the Pletcher-trained Rags to Riches in 2007. This is her distance preference and she comes from good lineage. If others tire late, she could be there at the end.

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Nest took second at the Kentucky Oaks and won four of her first five races prior. We love her odds as part of exotics picks.

With those as our top three on sports betting apps, that means we’re fading race favorite We The People (#1, 2-1), who has won three of four career races, including the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes. But in the only Grade 1 race so far, the Arkansas Derby, the horse finished a wildly disappointing seventh. This 1 ½ mile race is far longer than any distance he’s gone.

We’re also avoiding Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (#4, 7-2) atop our picks, who came from nowhere on the final turn to shock the world on a perfectly ridden trip for jockey Sonny Leon. Leon has never ridden on this track, however, and Rich Strike doesn’t have the background to suggest a backing at these odds.

Here’s how we’re betting the race; you can lay out your bet at TVG racing book and on their sports betting app:

2022 Belmont Stakes Picks & Predictions

$20 To Win: 6 ($20)

$5 Exacta Box: 3,5,6 ($18)

$2 Exacta: 5,6 with 1,2,3,4,5,6,8 ($15)

$.50 Trifecta: 3,5 with 3,5,6 with ALL ($12)

$.10 Superfecta: 5,6 with 1,3,4,5,6,8 with ALL with ALL ($30)

2022 Belmont Stakes on TV

Post Time: 6:44 p.m. (ET) Saturday

Where: Belmont Park, Elmont, N.Y.

TV: NBC

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About the Author

Adam Thompson

More About Adam

Long established as one of the nation's premier handicappers, Adam Thompson joined Bookies.com in 2019 after a successful run as senior handicapper for SportsLine & CBSSports.com. He specializes in the NFL and MLB, where he's hit on well over 60% of his picks the past five years. Adam's NBA and horse racing picks have also produced consistent, major winners over the years.