The full draw for the 2015 Belmont Stakes posts was held on Wednesday. Odds-on favorite American Pharoah (3-5) drew post No. 5, while second-choice Frosted drew post No. 8.
That, however, did little to move trainer Bob Baffert and owner Ahmed Zayat. The two are confident their horse is in prime position to be the first Triple Crown Winner since Affirmed in 1978.
"His body language is really good," Baffert said (via USA Today). "He's shown me in his works he's really doing well and he's happy. His stride is ridiculously efficient and I think that's what you need for the Belmont. I think it should be set up really great for him."
"It's a rider's' race," Zayat added. "I'm confident in the ability of American Pharoah because the horse is giving me that confidence. I'm not arrogant about it. What makes him special is the way he moves. He's the best moving horse I've ever seen and does everything so easy. I think his stride and the way he's going to carry himself will allow him to get any kind of distance."
One of the challengers standing in American Pharaoh's way is trainer Todd Pletcher's Materiality. The 6-1 favorite drew the outside post No. 8 position on Wednesday.
"I envision Materiality being close to the pace and Madefromlucky mid-pack," Pletcher said. "With Materiality, if you look at his first three races, he can be close to the pace. He missed the break at Churchill and found himself in a position he's never been in."
"I like being outside of American Pharoah. We're going to go into the first turn trying to make sure there's an honest pace."
Below is the full field in post position, complete with odds (via Bleacher Report).
|
Post No. |
Horse |
Jockey |
Morning-Line Odds |
|
1 |
Mubtaahij |
Irad Ortiz, Jr. |
10-1 |
|
2 |
Tale of Verve |
Gary Stevens |
15-1 |
|
3 |
Madefromlucky |
Javier Castellano |
12-1 |
|
4 |
Frammento |
Mike Smith |
30-1 |
|
5 |
American Pharoah |
Victor Espinoza |
3-5 |
|
6 |
Frosted |
Joel Rosario |
5-1 |
|
7 |
Keen Ice |
Kent Desormeaux |
20-1 |
|
8 |
Materiality |
John Velazquez |
6-1 |
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