Well, we aren't going to the Phish concert, but we have hopes for a possible "after party." Until then we will do our best to keep this current thread updated regarding Belmont coverage, which at least we can watch in the air conditioning. We are looking into the weather, and believe it may be a factor-we can only say at least the heatwave has broken so that we have less of a chance of seeing a jockey brawl!!5:00 p.m. update: TV coverage has begun on NBC, and there are in fact clouds and rain, meaning a very, very sloppy track. We now stand by our Nehro pick even more, as we would also encourage other longshots. Animal Kingdom seemed to hate dry dirt flying at it, let alone mud. AK is 3-1 now//Shack is at 8-1, which is kind odf disrespectful-but possibly true//Nehro is actually now the second choice at 4-1. We would like Brilliant Speed, but the horse doesn't run well on dirt let alone mud. We are starting to like a big, young, developing horse like Mucho Macho Man right now, as well as Master of Hounds as an across the board longshot. We just do not see a favorite, such as Shack/AK, taking this race on a sloppy track after racing so much, so hard, on dry shorter tracks this summer. We now say Nehro/MMM for the 'exacta box' bet-with a fun side ticket on Master of Hounds ATB.
BTW: They just ran an undercard race, on grass, and longshots prevailed. If you made a $2 bet on a certain trifecta {or spent a few other dollars to 'box' the bet} it paid over $2,000 for each $2 bet. The superfecta paid in excess of $30K for every $2 bet-we believe this confirms our suspicians that the favorites are not really THE favorites during the upcoming main event. Can you imagine if you only put $20 on that superfecta??? Even after the government takes their piece-which they will immediately do before you even get paid at the window, you could buy a reasonably priced house with cash, free and clear..
Well, there you go-Ruler On Ice makes the mob, uhhh we mean there is no mob, happy by taking it at 24-1-Animal Kingdom almost kiled his jockey out of the gate..The horse that placed was also a longshot...we can't wait to see what that exacta paid...but we know nobody sane bet it before the race..Stay Thirsty second-exacta $928 for $2..the trifecta was over $8K for every $2...we didn't have time to note the superfecta pay out, but yeah, a house and a car could have been purchase for every $2 bet....Brilliant Speed hit the show bet-nehro was fourth. MMM continues to vex sentimental bettors as he finished about 25 lengths behind the lead pack. We at AITC now conclude horse racing 2011 horse racing season counting money we didn't waste as we obviously did not have the pulse of the ponies this year. Hey, that is a moral victory as we saved at least $100-200 per Triple Crown race by NOT following our own instincts. BTW-we just confirmed that if you hit the superfecta, you earned over $70K for each $2 you bet. Wowza.