Belmont Stakes Odds: Sierra Leone fancied to learn from Kentucky Derby mistake

The 2024 Belmont Stakes will be the 156th running of the iconic Grade 1 race, which is the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, and Sierra Leone is expected to run a big race after his Derby mishap.

Chad Brown's runner took a wide route in the Kentucky Derby in May, and eventually finished second to Mystik Dan at Churchill Downs, losing by just a nose.

He will now compete in a field of 10 in the Belmont Stakes, which will be run for the first time ever at Saratoga Race Course due to renovations taking place at Belmont Park.

Because of the smaller size of Saratoga's main track, this month's race will be run over 10 furlongs, two shorter than the usual distance.

There's a prize purse of $2million up for grabs in what should be another thrilling battle.

Belmont Stakes Odds

• Sierra Leone - 6/4
• Mindframe - 7/2
• Mystik Dan - 7/1
• Seize The Grey - 8/1
• Honor Marie - 12/1
• Resilience - 14/1

Odds were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.

Sierra Leone

Brown's charge has won three of five races, and both of those failures were by a nose.

The Gun Runner colt is trained by a four-time Eclipse award winner, and he will be partnered by a new jockey in Flavien Prat.

Sierra Leone's career has been a fruitful one, with the three-year-old winning over $1.5 million in prize money, and he is expected to produce another strong display.

Connections have already enjoyed Grade 2 and Grade 1 success with Sierra Leone, and if he can produce a similar display to what he delivered in the derby, he will go close.

Mindframe

Todd Pletcher's runner will look to extend his winning record to three when he competes at Saratoga.

The son of Constitution has won his first two races to date by 21 and a half lengths, but neither have come at Graded level.

His latest win came on the Kentucky Derby undercard, and with Irad Ortiz Jr. booked to ride, he should give supporters a run for their money.

Seize The Grey

Seize The Grey will bring plenty of experience to the party this weekend, having made eight appearances since July 2023.

Connections only enjoyed one win in 2023, but he has since improved and won three times from five outings in 2024. Jaime A Torres has guided him to two consecutive wins since the start of May, and they will be hoping to repeat that successful partnership this time around.

Mystik Dan

The Kentucky Derby winner will look to land another big prize, and he will be the only horse to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year.

Having beaten Sierra Leone by a nose, he then finished second in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

Connections clearly fancy their chances, and why not? Mystik Dan has yet to finish outside the top two in his appearances in both Triple Crown races.

Resilience

William Mott's Resilience was the last confirmed runner for the Belmont Stakes, and he will need to raise his level to be competitive.

Resilience was sixth in the Kentucky Derby, but he did win the Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct in April.

Junior Alvarado gets the ride for the second race on the spin, but they will be up against it on previous form.

Honor Marie

After Honor Marie finish eighth in the Kentucky Derby, connections are trying their luck once again for a Triple Crown success.

Whit Beckman's runner has not won in 2024, but he and his team will be clinging to the fact he won the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in November last year.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.