2016 Belmont Stakes: Creator wins the 148th ‘Test of Champions’

There was no Triple Crown winner this year due to different horses taking the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, but the 1 1/2-mile Test of the Champion is always worth a watch and that was no different on Saturday. Creator, the winner of the Arkansas Derby, came from behind to win the race by a nose, the fourth nose finish in the race’s history.

Creator narrowly beat out Destin for the win, as close as can be. Destin was considered an early front-runner and chased Gettysburg for most of the race before taking the lead down the stretch. But Creator stalked him down for the victory.

Creator won the 148th Belmont Stakes by a nose.

Earlier: All eyes will be on the 11th race of the day Saturday, the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes, but there’s a full day of action planned for what might be a wet, stormy Belmont Park. Six Grade I stakes races are set to be held, along with two Grade II and one Grade III on the third day of the Belmont Stakes Festival of Racing.

While there will be a full day of undercard races, the main event’s post time is scheduled for 6:37 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on NBC, with their coverage of the day’s festivities beginning at 5 p.m.

While none of the 13-horse field will secure the kind of immortality that American Pharoah gained when he claimed the Triple Crown a year ago, there’s plenty of prestige on the line in the 148th running of the 1-1/2 mile Test of Champions. But there won’t be a duel between Nyquist (winner of the Kentucky Derby) and Exaggerator (winner of the Preakness) as the former horse dropped out of the race with a fever.

There’s also the fact that Cherry Wine and Suddenbreakingnews, two of the other favorites in the race, are also considered strong closers and are starting far inside in the draw, while Exaggerator will be running from post No. 11. Gettysburg comes in at post No. 6 and will definitely be a horse to watch early, but all eyes will be on Exaggerator throughout the race.

Exaggerator has been the favorite since Nyquist dropped out, and that didn’t change even when he was drawn outside. Last year’s winner, American Pharoah, won from the fifth post, but the winners in the two years prior were both in outside posts. No horse has won from the first post since 2003. This year, Governor Malibu, jockeyed by Joel Rosario, occupies that top spot.

When Exaggerator, the favorite for the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes, drew an outside post position at the 11th gate, the odds didn’t shift much away from him. After tracking down Nyquist and winning the Preakness Stakes, and especially after Nyquist was ruled out of the Belmont Stakes with a fever and a high white blood cell count, Exaggerator has been the consistent favorite to run to victory in the 1 1/2-mile Test of the Champion.

The 2016 Belmont Stakes can be viewed on NBC beginning at 5 p.m. ET or streamed using NBC Live Extra. The horses go to post at approximately 6:37 p.m.

If you’ve never had a glass of cherry wine, then you really should hunt some down and give it a taste (may we suggest one of the many varieties at Chateau Grand Traverse).

There’s no doubt that the owners of Cherry Wine, Frank L. Jones Jr. and William Pacella, will be popping the top off a few wines if their three-year-old colt manages to upset the field and win the 2016 Belmont Stakes, which has an official post time of 6:37 p.m. ET Saturday. While Cherry Wine may not have a big win to his name, his performance in the Preakness Stakes that earned him a second-place finish after passing Nyquist was quite noteworthy.

Cavorting made it clear as she came to the outside of the pack and tore away from her competitors that she was not about to let victory escape. The victory at the 2016 Belmont Stakes undercard Ogden Phipps race Saturday was her seventh in her career.

Cavorting started the race in the middle of the odds pack, standing at 4-1 as she entered the starting gate. Curalina, who was expected to win the Grade 1 race with 9-5 odds, did not even finish in the top three. Second-place finisher Forever Unbridled had 3-1 odds entering the race, and third-place finisher Carrumba held 10-1 odds.

Carina Mia may not have been the favorite heading into Saturday’s Acorn race, but she didn’t let that stop her from earning a convincing win.

The horse settled back early and then sprung into action over the final length of track, passing up both Go Maggie Go and race-time favorite Cathryn Sophia to take the lead. She didn’t look back, crossing the finish line ahead of second-place Off the Tracks and Cathryn Sophia, who finished in third.

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The breaking news in the world of the 2016 Belmont Stakes is that Suddenbreakingnews is getting plenty of attention from the oddsmakers, according to the odds updates at Belmontstakes.com. Suddenbreakingnews, which took fifth at the Kentucky Derby, is now at 5-1 odds, an increase in standing since Saturday morning when they were 7-1 (with a 10-1 morning line). As of 11:45 a.m. ET, Suddenbreakingnews had $195,831 placed on a win by bettors.

The growing rivalry between Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist and Preakness Stakes winner Exaggerator may not be continuing in the 2016 Belmont Stakes on Saturday, but oddsmakers are expecting a fairly close race nonetheless.

Exaggerator, who took second in the Kentucky Derby and won the Preakness to hand Nyquist his first loss of his career, is the favorite in the most recent odds, according to the sportsbooks at Bovada. He currently stands at 5-4 odds (9-5 morning line) to win the $1.5 million, 1-1/2-mile race.

For the first time in five tries, Exaggerator finally vanquished rival Nyquist to hand the Kentucky Derby winner the first loss of his career at the Preakness Stakes. With Nyquist’s trainers deciding to keep the horse out of the Belmont, Exaggerator will enter the final Triple Crown race as the favorite to win.

Exaggerator is going off at +125 to win the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, N.Y., at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. As a closer that is used to conserving energy until the end of the race to make a late kick, Exaggerator’s racing style should match up well with the daunting 1.5-mile length of the Belmont Stakes.

There is also a concern Saturday afternoon that some of the storms that form could be strong to severe with strong gusty damaging winds and of course lightning. When you have any outdoor event safety of fans and the horses becomes a concern.

SATURDAY - BELMONT STAKES WEATHER FORECAST:

Temperatures will be in the 70s for the Belmont Stakes and as we go into the afternoon we have an increasing chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms could have strong, gusty damaging winds; small hail and lightning. There is a risk of some of these storms being severe, posing a potential safety concern for spectators. Winds will be breezy with west-southwest winds between 15 to 20 mph.

The Belmont Stakes will go to the post at approximately 6:37 p.m. ET on Saturday. NBC will televise the event beginning at 5 p.m., and provide streaming coverage at NBC Sports Live Extra. You can watch coverage of the undercard on NBCSN beginning at 3 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra will steam that, as well.

Not that he’s undeserving. The horse trained by Keith Desormeaux and ridden by his brother, Hall of Fame jockey Kent, has shown throughout his career he’s strongest at the end of a race. Up until this point, the farthest distance he’s run in an event is the 1-1/4-mile Kentucky Derby in early May. In that, he made a late charge against Nyquist but ran out of distance. Now the question is, can he carry that out over the 1-1/2 miles of the Belmont? Further: If he does, is there any horse in the field capable of hanging with him?