2021 Belmont Oaks odds, predictions, lineup: Expert who hit superfecta makes surprising picks

Bob Weir just locked in his Belmont Oaks 2021 predictions, bets and picks

By CBS Sports Staff

Jul 10, 2021 at 1:16 pm ET • 3 min read

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The highly-regarded European invader Santa Barbara will try to get back into the winner's circle when she leaves the starting gate in the 2021 Belmont Oaks on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. After winning her career debut last year, the daughter of Camelot is on a three-race losing streak. But all three of those starts have come in Group 1 races in Europe. For Saturday she is listed as the 1-1 morning-line favorite in the 2021 Belmont Oaks odds.

The Christophe Clement-trained Plum Ali is getting 7-2 odds in the eight-horse 2021 Belmont Oaks field. The $700,000 race is the first leg of three in New York's Turf Triple Series for 3-year-old fillies. Post time for the 1¼-mile Belmont Oaks is 4:06 p.m. ET. With a well-accomplished Belmont Oaks field set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what renowned racing insider Bob Weir has to say before making any 2021 Belmont Oaks picks of your own.

Based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Weir has been handicapping and following horse racing since reading Andy Beyer's landmark handicapping book "Picking Winners" in the late 1980s. Weir is highly invested in the Beyer Speed Figure, a number assigned to every race run by a horse that measures how fast the horse ran. He uses the figure as the backbone of his handicapping. In fact, thanks to his proficiency with speed figures and top-tier handicapping, he landed one of just eight spots on Beyer's figure-making team in 2017, a position he holds to this day.

Weir's methodology has produced multiple five-figure days. In 2014, he hit a $60,000 Pick 6 at Del Mar. The following year, he nailed a $31,000 Pick 6 at Gulfstream Park. In 2016 and 2017, Weir qualified for the prestigious National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas.

Last year, his first for SportsLine, Weir was on fire. In June, Weir hit a $2 superfecta in the Ogden Phipps Stakes that paid a whopping $1,039. He crushed the exacta and trifecta in the Forego Stakes in August for $1,134.50. He hit the late Pick 4 at Belmont Park on June 18, June 19, June 25, July 2 and July 5, with the June 25 score returning a whopping $2,159.50.

This year, he has hit the exacta in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, Tampa Bay Derby and Peter Pan Stakes, the trifecta in the Risen Star Stakes and Blue Grass Stakes and the superfecta in the Belmont Stakes, with the Tampa Bay Derby score returning $1,414. Those are just some of his scores in 2021.

Now, he has handicapped the 2021 Belmont Oaks field, made his picks and constructed his Belmont Oaks best bets. You can only see his Belmont Oaks picks at SportsLine.

Top Belmont Oaks selections for Saturday

After studying the Beyer Speed Figures and breaking down the expected pace scenario of the race, Weir is bullish on Con Lima, who is 5-1 on the morning line, behind only Santa Barbara and Plum Ali. This daughter of Commissioner has won back-to-back starts and three of her last four. She is coming off a victory in the Wonder Again Stakes at Belmont on June 3.

She has finished out of the top two only once in 11 career starts and could very well be setting the early pace on Saturday. "She's very likely to hit the board," Weir tells SportsLine. Weir is using Con Lima prominently in his wagers.

How to make 2021 Belmont Oaks picks

Weir's top pick is a horse who "has been thrown in the deep end." He's also high on a double-digit long shot who "will likely appreciate the expected give in the ground" on Saturday. Weir is including these horses in his 2021 Belmont Oaks bets, and so should you. He's sharing his Belmont Oaks picks and which horses to back only at SportsLine.

So who wins the Belmont Oaks 2021? What double-digit long shot is a must-use? And how has Weir constructed his wagers? Check out the latest Belmont Oaks odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Weir's Belmont Oaks 2021 picks, and find out.