This year's Belmont Stakes features a wide open field ... at least that's what many people think.

The Kentucky Derby winner (Always Dreaming) and Preakness Stakes winner (Cloud Computing) aren't entering. The likely favorite (Classic Empire) will miss the race because of a foot issue. There's a method to picking which horses to focus on for trifecta and superfecta bets in a Belmont like this, and horse racing guru Jody Demling knows what it is.

In fact, eight of the last 17 Belmont Stakes winners have had one thing in common. At this year's Kentucky Derby, Demling won his ninth straight Derby-Oaks double -- he called the winners of both races for the ninth straight year.

At the Preakness, he was all over Cloud Computing, who won as an upset favorite.

Here's a refresher on those bet types from horse racing guru Jody Demling:

Trifecta: Pick the first-, second- and third-place finishers in the correct order. This paid over $1,000 in the Preakness. In last year's Belmont, when Creator won after opening at 10/1, it paid over $2,700.

Superfecta: Pick the first-, second-, third- and fourth-place finishers in the correct order. This paid over $8,000 in the Preakness last month and almost $14,000 in last year's Belmont Stakes.

While Demling has no quibbles with the favorite status of Irish War Cry (7/2), he plans to hold tickets with Tapwrit (6/1) and Gormley (8/1), plus two double-digit underdogs.

Demling has specific recommendations for win, place, show, trifecta and superfecta so you can cover all your bases. And he's sharing them over at SportsLine.

So which horses do you take? And in what combinations? And what's the secret sauce that 8 of the last 17 Belmont winners have in common? Visit SportsLine to get Demling's picks to win, place and show as well as his favorite long-shot, trifecta and superfecta bets.