2010 Belmont Stakes Betting Will Still Bring in Buffs

Belmont stakes gambling in 2010 won't have the Kentucky Derby champion or the Preakness champion but that does not mean it won't be popular.

It might appear that without a Triple Crown at stake that Belmont Stakes gambling would get a smaller amount of notice from devotees but history has shown that is not always the case.

Belmont stakes gambling in 2010 won't have Super Saver or Lookin at Lucky but there could still be a large field of horses attempting to win the third race in horse racing's Triple Crown. And there can still be a large crowd observing the Belmont stakes. There is no doubt that when a Triple Crown is on the line the attendance for the Belmont stakes goes up. The top six attendance figures at the Belmont have all come in the last 15 years and each time a Triple Crown was on the line. There were more than 120,000 devotees in 2004 when Smarty Jones failed to win the Belmont stakes.

You'd probably think that the worst attended Belmont Stakes would be when neither the Kentucky Derby champion nor Preakness Stakes champion was running. That is not the case though. In 2006, the Belmont didn't have Barbaro or Bernardini but more than 61,000 showed up to watch the race. If you go back 25 years there have actually been 12 races with worse attendance figures and many of those had the Derby champion, the Preakness champion or both of them. Last year there were only 52,186 devotees when Derby champion Mine That Bird was in the race. If you go back to the 2000 race you had the Derby champion Fusaichi Pegasus along with the Preakness champion Red Bullet skipping the Belmont but more than 67,000 turned up. The 1995 race had Kentucky Derby champion Thunder Gulch but it drew just 37,171 devotees. That is the smallest attendance amount in the last 25 years.

It seems sensible that fewer people would want to watch the Belmont if no big name horses participate in the race but history simply doesn't back that belief. People watch and bet on the Belmont stakes and sometimes it doesn't matter whether there is a Triple Crown at stake or not. It will be exciting to see how many people watch this year's Belmont on June 5th with no Triple Crown on the line. It might be more than you expect.

Belmont is also referred to as the "Run for the Carnations", so named for the blanket of white carnations draped over the champion's neck. Attendance at Belmont usually outperforms that of most other graded stakes in horse racing, for example the Breeders Cup. Belmont Stakes attendance is rated fourth in North America, closely following the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and the Kentucky Oaks. Belmont had its first run in 1867, defining it as the oldest of the Triple Crown events. It's also the third and last leg of the Triple Crown, just after the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Because of this and its mile and a half span, Belmont is also referred to as the "Test of the Champion." With a real lengthy tradition and notable endurance race, it's no surprise belmont still attracts the viewers it does.