The 2018 Belmont Stakes gets to be the belle of the ball this week, with its relevance boosted by a thoroughbred horse with an actual chance at winning the Triple Crown. Justify going for history on Saturday will be the culmination of the final leg of the most coveted achievement in horse racing. Justify pulled away to win the Kentucky Derby five weeks ago, then held off a smaller field at the Preakness on May 19 in Baltimore. American Pharoah, like Justify also trained by Bob Baffert, made history by winning the first Triple Crown in 37 years. Justify is the first horse since then to capture the first two legs, which makes this week at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York that much more special. There are 18 races spread over three days of racing, from Thursday through Saturday, including the $600,000 New York Stakes on Friday, then the $1 million Manhattan Stakes and $1.2 million Metropolitan Handicap on Saturday, the latter two Grade-I races. The post position draw for the Belmont Stakes will take place at Citi Field in Flushing, the home of the Mets, on Tuesday night, June 5, and will be streamed online at NYRA.com. Among the horses expected to race on Saturday are Bravazo and Tenfold, who finished second and third to Justify in the Preakness Stakes. NBCSN and NBC will televise the action on Friday and Saturday, with online streaming available through NBC Sports. Belmont Stakes schedule Tuesday, June 5 Belmont Stakes post position draw (Online only, NYRA) Thursday, June 7 3 races, including Intercontinental Stakes Friday, June 8 5 races, including new York Stakes TV: NBCSN, 5-6 p.m. ET Saturday, June 9 10 races, highlighted by Belmont Stakes TV: NBCSN, 2-4 p.m.; NBC, 4-7:15 p.m.<doc-sep>Garry Jones/Associated Press Justify's bid to become a Triple Crown winner will conclude with the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York, on Saturday. While Justify is the clear favourite at Belmont Park after storming to impressive victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, there are other notable contenders. Among them, Hofburg, Bravazo and Vino Rosso are all capable of spoiling the party. Here are the details of the draw and the expected entry lineup: Justify Hofburg Bravazo Vino Rosso Tenfold Blended Citizen Gronkowski Noble Indy Free Drop Billy Restoring Hope Seahenge The race schedule is as follows: Date: Saturday, June 9 Time: 6:37 p.m. ET, 11:37 p.m. BST TV Info: NBC Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra Bravazo proved his credentials by finishing second to Justify at the Preakness. In fact, he pushed the would-be Triple Crown recipient all the way, only losing by half a length. What stood out about Bravazo's race was his late surge after Good Magic had initially applied considerable pressure on Justify in Baltimore. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas is sure to get last month's runner-up in shape to go one better. Video Play Button Videos you might like Garry Jones/Associated Press/Associated Press Vino Rosso failed to keep pace with Justify at the Derby, but the Todd Pletcher-trained colt has the pedigree to dent his rival's bid for the Triple Crown. Winning the Wood Memorial earlier this year proved he has the speed and power to beat strong competition. Hofburg is another colt talented enough to upset the favourite. A seventh-placed finish at Churchill Downs didn't speak volumes about said talent, but he proved he'll be stronger this time after running a six-furlong breeze recently at Saratoga Race Course, per Blood-Horse. Yet for all of the credentials of some of the bigger names in the lineup, it's surely going to take a special race to beat Justify to the post. Like Hofburg, the son of Scat Daddy has also wowed onlookers with his warm-up performances, as well as by winning with room to spare in Louisville. Andy Lyons/Getty Images Blood-Horse editor Alicia Wincze Hughes has been left particularly impressed: "Four furlongs in :46 4/5 is what they call racehorse time, a sizzler of a workout almost bordering on too fast given the task dual classic winner Justify will be asked to pull off June 9. And were this an ordinary charge, said time—and subsequent gallop out of five furlongs in :59 3/5—in the colt's first workout since his May 19 Preakness Stakes (G1) triumph, could spark concern that he was leaving his best form on the track during training hours." It doesn't seem likely any of the contenders will get close enough to prevent Justify becoming the 13th Triple Crown winner and the first since American Pharoah managed the feat in 2015.<doc-sep>Mark Brown/Getty Images The post draw for the 2018 Belmont Stakes will take place on Tuesday as the contenders for the final leg of the Triple Crown will finally learn where they will be starting on Saturday. Per the Stakes' official Twitter account, the draw will start at 5:30 p.m. ET, with full coverage available via their website. The draw will take place at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, about 12 miles from Belmont Park. Here's a look at the horses in the race as well as odds accurate as of Wednesday, courtesy of OddsShark. All eyes will be on Justify, who is coming off a narrow win in the Preakness Stakes to keep his Triple Crown bid alive. There's a long list of horses who failed to complete the Triple Crown at the last hurdle, including legendary names like California Chrome, Big Brown, Smarty Jones, Real Quiet, Silver Charm, Alysheba and Spectacular Bid. Since 1978, just one of 14 horses has finished the job at Belmont: American Pharoah in 2015. The track at Belmont is significantly longer than the one at Pimlico, at 12 furlongs compared to 9.5 furlongs. That makes the Belmont Stakes a different type of challenge. Add to that the fact there are horses with fresher legs who skipped the Preakness on May 19, and it's easy to see why it is so hard to clear the last hurdle. Justify is unbeaten in his career, but his last win in the Preakness was arguably his least impressive, as he was nearly chased down in the final furlongs. Video Play Button Videos you might like Here's a look at the race highlights: Bravazo and Tenfold both came out of the background to make life difficult on Justify, showing their stamina and long speed. Both will also race at Belmont, eyeing the longer track and final straight. Hofburg and Vino Rosso complete a group of contenders that may not look too daunting on paper but should present Justify with a major challenge. The colt came into 2018 without any racing experience and has now raced on five occasions since February―that's a serious workload that included some rainy, heavy conditions. The colt will likely start the race as the favourite regardless of the draw, but there are plenty of forces working against him.<doc-sep>
Garry Jones/Associated Press All eyes will be on Justify at the 2018 Belmont Stakes, as the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner aims to clinch the Triple Crown at Belmont Park in New York on Saturday. American Pharoah was the last winner of the Triple Crown in 2015, and if Justify finishes first on Saturday, he will become just the 13th horse to clinch victory in all three famous races. Before the race, the contenders will discover where they will start at Belmont Park. Belmont Stakes showed how you can watch the post position draw: Read on to find out how to catch all the race action, followed by a preview of the Run for the Carnations. Date: Saturday, June 9 Start Time: 5 p.m. ET/10 p.m. BST (Post Time at 6:37 p.m. ET/11:37 p.m. BST) Video Play Button Videos you might like Venue: Belmont Park, Elmont, New York Network: NBC Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Belmont Stakes 2018 Preview Justify is yet to taste defeat in his career and will head to Belmont as the favourite after scooping the first two legs of the Triple Crown. He has looked in pretty good shape ahead of the big race, per BloodHorse: Trainer Bob Baffert knows exactly what it takes to win the Triple Crown, as he has done it before with American Pharoah. Another Triple Crown win would make him only the second trainer in history to achieve the feat, per Thoroughbred Insider: Justify will face stiff competition at Belmont Park, not least from Bravazo, who finished sixth at Churchill Downs and second at Preakness. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas offered his view of the race, per Jason Frakes at the Louisville Courier Journal (h/t USA Today): "We've got a nice horse, and we'll make it interesting. I said that before the Preakness, and we made it real interesting." Lukas also explained what should happen if Baffert does win a second Triple Crown: Justify will face the toughest challenge of his young career at Belmont Stakes on Saturday. He's managed to cope with everything that's been put in front of him so far, and one more win will see him write his name into the history books.