Wager Mage
Photo by Ben Kirby Pexels Logo Photo: Ben Kirby

How fast was Secretariat in mph?

Triple Crown winners Secretariat holds the fastest finishing time at 2:24.00. In 1973, the Triple Crown-winning horse set a world record that still stands for a race on a mile-and-a-half dirt track. The horse reached a top speed of 49 mph.

What is a fox car?
What is a fox car?

The Fox was a variant of the Gol manufactured by Volkswagen do Brasil and marketed by Volkswagen in North America as an entry level subcompact from...

Read More »
What does +7.5 mean in bets?
What does +7.5 mean in bets?

An underdog could be expressed, for example, as +7.5. That means that if the team wins the game, or loses by seven or fewer points, then those who...

Read More »

On Saturday, history will be made in Elmont, New York. The Belmont Stakes will celebrate its 150th running -- this we know. But what else is at stake? Just the potential for a Triple Crown win by Derby and Preakness winner Justify. We had ESPN horse racing expert Chris Fallica weigh the favorite's pluses and minuses:

Justify has run five races in his life and has won them all. His biggest challenger, Audible, with whom he shares ownership, won't be running in the Belmont -- why risk spoiling the party? -- nor will Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, Kentucky Derby runner-up and Preakness pacesetter Good Magic. Even better news for the 3-year-old: Each of the past five horses to win the Triple Crown led at every point of call and was an odds-on choice in the Belmont. Justify is (natch) the favorite this year and likes to be on the lead. So put your money on him, right?

Hold on. A metric called the Beyer speed figure represents a horse's performance relative to the speed of the track. According to it, Justify had the worst race of his career at the Preakness. That might be a result of his fatigue: The Belmont will be his third race in five weeks, and Justify ran three times in seven weeks leading up to the Derby. History stacks up against Justify, too. Only one of the 12 horses that have won the Triple Crown did so undefeated -- the legendary Seattle Slew in 1977. Justify might not have much competition flanking him but that won't make for a certain win.

Triple Crown winners

Of the 35 horses that have been eligible for the Triple Crown after winning the first two legs, 12 have succeeded. Triple Crown-winning jockeys have mostly been American, but winners have also come from Canada, Mexico, France and England. Secretariat holds the fastest finishing time at 2:24.00. In 1973, the Triple Crown-winning horse set a world record that still stands for a race on a mile-and-a-half dirt track. The horse reached a top speed of 49 mph. Here are other notable facts about winners and near-misses: Gallant Fox is the only Triple Crown winner to sire another Triple Crown winner (Omaha) Real Quiet was the closest Triple Crown miss -- in 1998, he came in second by a nose behind Victory Gallop

Eyes on the prize money

The total purse of Triple Crown winners has changed in the past 99 years since Sir Barton won $57,275 in 1919 ($828,481 in today's world). If Justify wins the Belmont, he would earn the second-highest prize money all-time behind American Pharoah in unadjusted dollars.

The purse for the 2018 Belmont Stakes stands at $1.5 million. How does it compare to other purses from the past year?

Does DraftKings sportsbook report to IRS?
Does DraftKings sportsbook report to IRS?

If you take home a net profit of $600 or more for the year playing on websites such as DraftKings and FanDuel, the organizers have a legal...

Read More »
Can Bitcoin go worthless?
Can Bitcoin go worthless?

The stock exchange confirms in its own way that bitcoins are completely worthless. Experts of fictitious capital particularly appreciate this...

Read More »

Major Sporting Events Purse Comparisons Event Sport Purse 2018 Masters Golf $11 million 2018 Kentucky Derby Horse Racing $2 million 2018 Preakness Stakes Horse Racing $1.5 million 2018 Indy 500 Auto Racing $13.1 million 2017 Tour de France Cycling $2.7 million

Spring and summer events to watch

The Belmont was one of the earliest sporting events, and the first of the three Triple Crown races.

Long odds

The favorite has won the Belmont -- the Triple Crown's longest leg at 1½ miles -- only four times in the past 25 years. Justify powered through 1¼ miles of rainy muck at the Kentucky Derby and charged in the fog to claim the 1 3/16-mile Preakness, winning the slowest race of his life by half a length. Belmont Locations Year Location 1867-1889 Jerome Park, Bronx 1890-1904 Morris Park, Bronx 1995-1962 Belmont Park, Elmont, NY 1963-1967 Aqueduct Racerack, Queens 1968-current Belmont Park (renovated)

Belmont's largest crowds

The largest Belmont crowd was in 2004, when Smarty Jones lost his Triple Crown bid. In 2015, when American Pharoah won the Triple Crown, the crowd was capped at 90,000. That same year, an estimated 22 million viewers watched as he became the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. The first Belmont Stakes to be broadcast was in 1948, when CBS viewers watched Citation win the Triple Crown.

Did you know?

Plenty has happened in the previous 149 races of the Belmont Stakes. Here are five facts you might not know: 1. Julie Krone, who rode Colonial Affair to a Belmont win in 1993, remains the only female jockey to win any of the Triple Crown races. 2. Nine horses bred outside of the United States have won the Belmont: England (6), Ireland (2), Canada (1) . 3. Triple Crown-winning jockey Johnny Longden (Count Fleet, 1943) came to the United States from England and was originally supposed to come over on the Titanic as a child with his mother -- but had a late train and missed the boat. 4. "C" is the most popular first initial of Belmont-winning horses (20 wins). 5. The slowest time for a winner is Echelon in 1970 at 2:34.00 -- still only 10 seconds slower than Secretariat's record time.

What is number 8 in rugby called?
What is number 8 in rugby called?

In America and Canada the number 8 is known as "8-man". Collective terms are also used to describe similar positions, with the props and hookers...

Read More »
Why is 26 called bed and breakfast in darts?
Why is 26 called bed and breakfast in darts?

Two & Six - Achieving a score of 26 points in a throw. It is derived from England where bed and breakfast were two and sixpence, therefore, called...

Read More »
Who is the owner of Mahadev book?
Who is the owner of Mahadev book?

bookie Saurabh Chandrakar The infamous bookie Saurabh Chandrakar (owner of Mahadev Book) had on its third anniversary on September 18, 2022 thrown...

Read More »
What is a lucky 3 digit number?
What is a lucky 3 digit number?

1, 3, 7, 9, 13, 15, 21, 25, 31, 33, 37, 43, 49, 51, 63, 67, 69, 73, 75, 79, 87, 93, 99, 105, 111, 115, 127, 129, 133, 135, 141, 151, 159, 163, 169,...

Read More »