Dornoch may be a 15-1 longshot to win the 2024 Belmont Stakes on Saturday, but his resume features one accolade only one other horse can claim, a victory over Sierra Leone, the Belmont Stakes 2024 favorite. Dornoch and Sierra Leone finished first and second in the Remsen Stakes in December, but four months later, Sierra Leone got vengeance over Dornoch with a win in the Blue Grass Stakes. Both horses ran in the Kentucky Derby, but the race at Churchill Downs was won by Mystic Dan, who is 5-1 odds in the 2024 Belmont Stakes odds.
The 2024 Belmont Stakes field is filled with 2024 Belmont Stakes horses who have plenty of experience against each other. The Belmont Stakes 2024 takes off from Saratoga Race Course on Saturday. Post time is 6:41 p.m. ET. With several accomplished horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what Santa Anita Park-based racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2024 Belmont Stakes picks.
Few people in racing are as well-connected as Yu. An on-air host and reporter who has provided racing analysis for TVG, HRTV and the Breeders' Cup, Yu has spent a lifetime in racing. Prior to her television career, she worked for trainers Steve Asmussen and Ron Moquett. She also is married to Santa Anita-based trainer Ryan Hanson.
Yu also has tremendous handicapping chops. In a wide-open Kentucky Derby in 2021, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1. In Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager two years ago, she suggested a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at a whopping 18-1 when Rich Strike won the Derby.
Last year she crushed the Saudi Cup, riding 15-1 winner Panthalassa. She also smashed the Haskell Stakes for a $663 score, hitting 12-1 winner Geaux Rocket Ride as well as the exacta. Those were just two of her scores in 2023.
She enters this year's Belmont Stakes on a roll. She correctly called National Treasure to win the Pegasus World Cup. In the last two months, she predicted Stronghold's upset win in the Santa Anita Derby, en route to a $219.50 payday, and smashed the exacta in the Apple Blossom Handicap as part of a $410 score.
For the final leg of the Triple Crown, Yu has handicapped the 2024 Belmont Stakes lineup, made her picks and constructed her best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2024 Belmont Stakes predictions
One surprise: Yu is fading Seize the Grey, even though he is coming off a win in the Preakness Stakes. He won the Preakness Stakes as a 12-1 longshot. Now that Seize the Grey has the fourth-shortest odds in the 2024 Belmont Stakes field, there may be an overcorrection.
Before his Preakness Stakes victory, Seize the Grey had three wins over his first nine races. The colt finished seventh in the Blue Grass Stakes, the worst result of three horses in the 2024 Belmont Stakes lineup who also ran. Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has won four Belmont Stakes, but none since 2000, and Seize the Grey will become his 26th starter in the Belmont Stakes for a win rate of 16%. With a competitive 2024 Belmont Stakes field, Yu doesn't expect Seize the Grey to win back-to-back Triple Crown races and doesn't like how short the horse's odds are. You can see all of Yu's 2024 Belmont Stakes bets here.
How to make 2024 Belmont Stakes picks
Instead, Yu's top pick is a horse who "has been training forwardly." She also has identified a double-digit longshot who is a strong "longshot play." She has made her 2024 Belmont Stakes bets, and she's sharing which 2024 Belmont Stakes horses to back only at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2024 Belmont Stakes? What double-digit longshot is a must-play? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? Visit SportsLine to see Yu's picks for the Belmont Stakes 2024, all from the Santa Anita Park-based racing insider who has been red-hot all year, and find out.
2024 Belmont Stakes odds, contenders
| Prg # | Horse | Odds | Projection |
| 1 | Seize the Grey | 8-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 2 | Resilience | 10-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 3 | Mystik Dan | 5-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 4 | The Wine Steward | 15-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 5 | Antiquarian | 12-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 6 | Dornoch | 15-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 7 | Protective | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 8 | Honor Marie | 12-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 9 | Sierra Leone | 9-5 | SEE PICKS |
| 10 | Mindframe | 7-2 | SEE PICKS |
