Belmont Stakes 2011: Ruler On Ice Wins Third Triple Crown Race

When Animal Kingdom slipped and nearly fell coming out of the gates, the 2011 Belmont Stakes was blown wide-open. We don’t know if the Kentucky Derby winner would’ve had more in the tank had he not been forced to play catch-up at Belmont Park, but we do know Ruler on Ice took advantage, racing to the front of the field down the stretch and batting aside challengers down to the wire. The grudge match between Animal Kingdom and Shackleford never materialized as fresh faces took over in the Belmont Stakes.

With the win, Ruler on Ice earned his owners $600,000, a nice windfall for a horse that cost just $100,000 in 2009. If you were to ask around the track on Saturday before the race, few outside Ruler on Ice’s contingent could’ve predicted he’d be in the winner’s circle.

Ruler on Ice came out of nowhere to win the 2011 Belmont Stakes on Sunday, taking down Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness Stakes winner Shackleford to cross the finish line first. At 24-1 odds, few expected Ruler on Ice to finish near the top of the field, let alone win at Belmont Park on Saturday. But down the stretch, the favorites faded, leaving Brilliant Speed, Ruler on Ice and Stay Thirsty to battle for the win in the Belmont Stakes.

Here’s the full video of Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, as seen on NBC.

Initially, things looked good for Preakness winner Shackleford’s chances of getting a second straight Triple Crown race victory. But the Belmont’s length did the fast-breaking horse in on the backstretch.

Shackleford was able to break cleanly and take a lead from the first furlong, and led through the first mile on the muddy Belmont Park track.

It was a less-than-expected race at Belmont Park on Saturday as Ruler on Ice ruled the day and downed the favorites in the 2011 Belmont Stakes. What was billed as a grudge match between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes champions became a race for the underdogs as three of the more unheralded horses in the field finished atop the field, led by Ruler on Ice at 24-1 odds.

Derby winner Animal Kingdom slipped out of the gate, nearly dismounting his jockey, yet still attempted to mount a late-charge as Ruler on Ice catapulted to the front of the field. It wasn’t a good day for the favorites, with Nehro finishing fourth, Shackleford fifth and Animal Kingdom sixth. Mucho Macho Man was just behind the group in seventh, and Master of Hounds was all the way back in 10th.

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom was looking to become the first horse since 1995 to win the first and third races of the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes. Thanks to a near-catastrophe, he almost failed to finish.

Animal Kingdom broke very poorly, lagging behind a pack after slowly breaking from the No. 9 post position, then clipping the heel of Monzon as he tried to find room to run. That clip jerked the horse’s neck up, and pulled jockey John Velazquez out of his stirrups as he tried to control him.

Just two years ago, Ruler on Ice was purchased for $100,000 and on Saturday at Belmont Park, he not only payed dividends, earning $600,000 for his Belmont Stakes win, but also payed well to bettors with the foresight to step out on a limb and wager on the 24-1 long-shot. Ruler On Ice survived charges from Animal Kingdom, Stay Thirst and Brilliant Speed down the stretch, nipping the field by a slim margin.

At 24-1, Ruler on Ice was an afterthought, and wasn’t even considered among the year’s top three-year-olds. It all meant the betting windows at the track were doling out large amounts for winning tickets, headlined by Ruler on Ice’s $51.50 payout to win, $26.00 to place and $13.60 to show.

Ruler on Ice, winner of the 2011 Belmont Stakes, earned an underdog victory in the race, beating the year’s other two Triple Crown winners and muddy conditions to score a $600,000 payout.

Ruler on Ice had among the longest odds in the field heading into Saturday, paying out 42-1 as of Saturday morning before betting narrowed his final odds to 24-1 or lower.

The 2011 Belmont Stakes was run on a muddy track under a gray New York sky. But that wasn’t enough to prevent Ruler on Ice from staging a massive upset, winning the Belmont Stakes after going off as a 24-1 underdog.

Preakness winner Shackleford broke fast and led the field around the first turn, but faded late as Ruler on Ice and Stay Thirsty kept their pace to finish first and second. Brilliant Speed placed third.

Opening morning favorite Animal Kingdom is still the favorite as of 2:45 pm ET at the Belmont Stakes, but his odds aren’t quite as wide as they once were. Currently, Nehro is seriously closing in, while betting has been hot on Shackleford, as he’s gone from a low of 13-1 to 9-1 odds. After closing to 4-1, Master of Hounds has dropped back a bit, falling to 9-2. Mucho Macho Man has also enjoyed some consistent betting, falling from an opening line of 10-1 to his current line of 7-1. Here are the complete odds, lines as of 2:45 pm.

1. Master of Hounds, 9-2

2. Stay Thirsty, 16-1

3. Ruler On Ice, 29-1

4. Santiva, 13-1

5. Brilliant Speed, 9-1

6. Nehro, 4-1

7. Monzon, 26-1

8. Prime Cut, 20-1

9. Animal Kingdom, 3-1

10. Mucho Macho Man, 7-1

11. Isn’t He Perfect, 31-1

12. Shackleford, 9-1

The final jewel of the 2011 Triple Crown season is the 2011 Belmont Stakes, and it’s just hours away from Elmont, New York. Here’s a brief overview of what Belmont viewers need to know.

The 2011 Belmont Stakes post time is 6:35 p.m. Eastern, if you want to skip the build-up and start watching right as the horses are loaded into the gate. It’s one of 13 races being run at Belmont Park on Saturday, and features a 12-horse field that includes Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness victor Shackleford. Those horses may be running on a wet track if rainy conditions continue.

Animal Kingdom opened as the favorite in the 2011 Belmont Stakes, and has been the favorite throughout the week. The current Belmont Stakes odds, though, have other horses closing on the Kentucky Derby winner.

Animal Kingdom remains a 5-2 favorite to win the Belmont, but Nehro has closed from 5-1 to 7-2, and Master of Hounds has moved from 5-1 to 4-1. Even Preakness winner Shackleford, considered a long shot for most of the week, has had his odds drop, from 16-1 to 10-1.

The Belmont Stakes always stands as the longest of the three Triple Crown races in a given year. But with the weather forecast looking like rain in Elmont, New York, the Belmont Park track could be very wet for the 2011 Belmont Stakes, making this an even slower race than usual.

The Albany Times-Union reports that the Belmont Park track is wet as of Saturday morning, and that the current condition of that track could be exacerbated by more rain throughout the day before the Belmont post time. After a week of high temperatures at the Belmont in the run-up to the race, showers have dominated Saturday, and could make for a wet, muddy race if they persist through the afternoon.

Animal Kingdom opened as a 2-1 favorite in the 2011 Belmont Stakes, but early betting has moved the line, if only slightly. With the Belmont set for Saturday afternoon, Animal Kingdom currently sits at 5-2, still far-and-away the favorite among the 12 horses entered. Nehro and Master of Hounds hold the second-best odds at 5-1, with Mucho Macho Man right behind at 6-1.

Preakness Stakes winner Shackleford has fallen back, and now sits at 16-1 odds. Starting on the outside, Shackleford has some work to do if he wants to run from the front and on the rail, and that, coupled with the distance of the race, seems to have bettors wary.

The longest of all Triple Crown races, the mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes is the ultimate test of stamina for thoroughbreds on dirt in the United States. And while this year’s Belmont will not anoint a Triple Crown winner, it will likely go a long way in deciding which horse is named Champion Three-Year-Old Colt at the Eclipse Awards next January.

Animal Kingdom, by virtue of his win the Kentucky Derby and his second place finish in the Preakness, stands at the pinnacle of the top three-year-olds in America. Shackleford denied the Derby winner a chance at the Triple Crown with his gutsy wire-to-wire win in the Preakness. Each horse is in New York to settle the score in Saturday’s Grade 1 Belmont Stakes.

When the post positions for the 2011 Belmont Stakes were drawn on Wednesday, Animal Kingdom found himself in a tough spot. In the No. 9 gate, which sits just to the outside of center in the 12 horse field, the Kentucky Derby winner will have plenty of traffic to deal with, and a long way to go to dive inside to the rail. And if history is any indication, the odds are stacked against Animal Kingdom, despite his role as the morning line favorite.

The No. 9 gate holds somewhat of a curse, and the Kentucky Derby-Belmont Stakes double isn’t an easy feat, either.

Like the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, NBC will be streaming the 2011 Belmont Stakes live online beginning at 5 p.m. EDT. The race itself begins some 90 minutes later, with post time scheduled for 6:35 p.m. And while the Belmont lost some of its intrigue in the Preakness Stakes when Animal Kingdom failed in its bid for the Triple Crown, the race still serves as a grudge match, and features plenty of capable horses.

A live-stream of the Belmont Stakes can be found at NBCSports.com.

It’s a full day of racing on Saturday at Belmont Park, leading up to the 2011 Belmont Stakes in the evening. The action gets started early, with the first post time set for 11:35 a.m. Seven hours later, the main event of the day takes place as Animal Kingdom, Shackleford and others enter the gates for the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, a mile and a half race on the dirt.

Versus and NBC will broadcast a few of the main races, with the Versus set to begin its broadcast at 3 p.m. before NBC takes over at 5 p.m. Post-race coverage can be found back on Versus at 7 p.m. NBC will broadcast both the Woodford Reserve Manhattan and Belmont Stakes while Versus will set the stage and show a race or two in-between.

Much of the East Coast is dealing with a record-setting heat wave, and the horses are the 2011 Belmont Stakes are no exception. With temperatures nearing 100 degrees in New York, Thursday’s racing was canceled and trainers struggled to keep their horses cool and hydrated.

Shackleford exercised at 9 a.m. before returning to his barn for water and a cool-down.

There’s an underrated aspect of the Belmont Stakes that was brought up at SB Nation’s horse racing blog, And Down The Stretch They Come, this week and it has nothing to do with the race itself. Instead, Animal Kingdom has a chance to lend legitimacy to a completely different thoroughbred bloodline and, perhaps, alter the sport for the better in the future. As it stands now, American horses are meticulously bred, and right now, Mr. Prospector’s line is dominant.

But all that can change if Animal Kingdom is able to produce. The diversification of the bloodline, if breeders show a willingness to move away from Mr. Prospector’s tree, is seen as a great thing by TFTribe, who wrote the following FanPost at And Down The Stretch They Come.

With the post position draw for the 2011 Belmont Stakes came the morning line odds, or the first official betting lines for Saturday’s race. As expected, Animal Kingdom was installed as the favorite, with Nehro just a tick behind and Shackleford a close third. If the odds are to be believed, the Belmont is a three-horse race, as well as a grudge match between the Preakness Stakes and Kentucky Derby winners.

Mucho Macho Man is also in the mix at 10-1, the same odds as Master of Hounds, who will start on the rail. The rest of the field holds 15-1 odds of worse, and Isn’t He Perfect and Monzon were installed as the long-shots at 30-1.

Mucho Macho Man finished third in the Kentucky Derby and sixth in the Preakness. His owner would like to see the horse win the 2011 Belmont Stakes when its run this Saturday. To do so, they needed to make some changes.

Mucho Macho Man will be wearing fitted, synthetic shoes in the Belmont Stakes after losing his right front shoe at the start of the Louisiana Derby and his left front shoe in the Preakness.

The 2011 Belmont Stakes post position draw happened Wednesday morning and Stay Thirsty drew the second position. That’s a favorable spot for a horse that already has a bit of an advantage heading into Saturday’s race.

Queens native and owner Mike Repole sees his horse’s history on the track and in the area as a definite advantage.

2011 Belmont Stakes favorites Animal Kingdom, Nehro and Shackleford put the finishing touches on their race preparations, with the Kentucky Derby champion at one point declaring himself already quite prepared, and thank you:

Shackleford got in just enough work to show his team he’s ready to contend, while Nehro appears to be getting in more frequent, but less vigorous, runs than his primary competition is. As The Rail’s Alex Brown reports, all three connections are pleased with the results, though there’s certainly more than one Animal Kingdom bettor now thinking about dialing back his or her wager by a third to counter that missing half-mile.

Now this is how you promote a horse race:

The 2011 Belmont Stakes post position draw happened Wednesday morning, and the resulting Belmont post positions are neither particularly kind nor exceedingly unfair to either Kentucky Derby champion Animal Kingdowm or Preakness winner Shackleford.

Shackleford drew the No. 12 position, furthest from the rail in the 12-horse field, and Animal Kingdom will be No. 9, on the outside. Full post positions are as follows: