Jockey Flavien Prat will try to win the Test of the Champion for the first time in his career when he hops aboard the favored Sierra Leone in the 2024 Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. Considered one of the top jockeys in the country, Prat is winless in three previous Belmont Stakes mounts. His best finish is second, with Hot Rod Charlie in 2021. On Saturday, Prat will ride Sierra Leone, who was ridden by Tyler Gaffalione in his last three starts. Sierra Leone is the 9-5 favorite in the 2024 Belmont Stakes odds. The lightly raced Mindframe (7-2), Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (5-1) and Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey (8-1) round out the top four choices among the 2024 Belmont Stakes horses.
Post time is 6:41 p.m. ET. With an accomplished field set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what SportsLine writer Gene Menez has to say before making any Belmont Stakes picks or horse racing predictions, given the success he's had during this year's Triple Crown.
A former reporter and editor at Sports Illustrated, Menez covered an array of sports, including horse racing, for the magazine and its website for almost 14 years. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as SI's handicapper for the Triple Crown races and correctly predicted Super Saver to win the Kentucky Derby in 2010.
In 2015, while writing for Sports on Earth, Menez accurately gave out the Kentucky Derby superfecta (American Pharoah, Firing Line, Dortmund and Frosted), which paid $1,268.20 for $2. Then in 2017, he tweeted out his Kentucky Derby picks, including Always Dreaming to win, and hit the Pick 4, which paid almost $6,900 on a $1 bet.
In a span of seven races last year for SportsLine, he cashed the winner of the Lecomte Stakes, the exacta in the Southwest Stakes, the winner of the Holy Bull Stakes, the winner of the Sam F. Davis Stakes, and the trifecta in the Jenny Wiley Stakes. He also nailed National Treasure's win in the Preakness. And last month, he gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby.
For Saturday, Menez has handicapped the 2024 Belmont Stakes field, made his picks and constructed his best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2024 Belmont Stakes predictions
One surprise: Menez is completely tossing Mystik Dan, even though he won the Kentucky Derby and finished second in the Preakness Stakes. A Kentucky bred, Mystik Dan is best known for winning the garland of roses five weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby at 18-1 odds. Two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes, he finished as the runner-up to a loose-on-the-lead Seize the Grey.
On Saturday in the Belmont Stakes 2024, Mystik Dan will make his ninth start in less than eight months, and Menez believes the horse is due for a regression. "I think Mystik Dan will be hard-pressed to produce another top-notch effort," Menez told SportsLine. Menez is not using Mystik Dan in any of his wagers. You can see all of Menez's 2024 Belmont Stakes bets here.
How to make 2024 Belmont Stakes picks
However, Menez's top pick is a horse who will be "right there when the horses hit the wire." He also is high on a double-digit longshot who is coming off a performance that is "better than it looks on paper." He is including these horses in his wagers, and so should you. He's sharing which horses to back at SportsLine.
So who wins Belmont Stakes 2024? What double-digit longshot has a big chance to run well, and how has Menez constructed his wagers? Visit SportsLine to see Menez's picks for the Belmont Stakes, all from the expert who gave out Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby, and find out.
2024 Belmont Stakes odds, contenders, post positions
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