2023 Belmont Stakes: Forte is favored to win Triple Crown finale after scratching from Derby

The 155th running of the Belmont Stakes is set to take place Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. It is the oldest and longest race in the Triple Crown series at 1.5 miles compared to the Kentucky Derby (1.25 miles) and the Preakness Stakes (1 3/16 miles).

This year will be the 50th anniversary of the run by Secretariat who at the time became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. There won’t be a Triple Crown winner this year after Mage, who won the Kentucky Derby as a 15-to-1 long shot, came in third during the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

Mage will not be racing in the Belmont. The Todd Pletcher-trained Forte is the betting favorite to win the race at 5/2 odds. Forte was the Kentucky Derby morning line favorite before he was scratched the morning of the race and last raced on April 1.

Here’s a look at the odds and post positions as of Wednesday morning:

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Bob Baffert’s horse, National Treasure, has the third-best odds to win the Belmont, valued at 5/1, while Tapit Trice has the second-best odds at 3/1 and is another Pletcher-trained horse in the field.

National Treasure can become the 19th horse to win the Preakness and Belmont after either losing or skipping the Derby. Baffert is serving a two-year suspension at Churchill Downs, which is why National Treasure could not race there this year.

Only two horses from the Preakness are set to run in the Belmont (National Treasure and fourth-place finisher Red Route One) and just three horses who raced in the Derby will compete on Saturday (Tapit Trice, Angel of Empire, Hit Show).

The race will be aired on Fox and its post time is set for 7:02 p.m.