Belmont Stakes – Fly Down is an Attractive +400 in the Horse Racing Sportsbook

The Nick Zito trained Ice Box is the favorite in the horse racing sportsbook at the odds of +200 to win the third jewel of the Triple Crown.

Ice Box deserves favoritism, although +200 seems awfully low to me, but the other Nick Zito entrant, Fly Down, is the horse that could give Zito his second Belmont Stakes victory.

Zito won the race in 2008 when D’Tara upset the heavily favored Big Brown. Now, Zito might end up upsetting himself in the 2010 Belmont Stakes with Fly Down.

142nd Belmont Stakes

• Where: Belmont Park, Elmont, NY
• When: June 5th, 2010
• TV: ABC – Coverage Starts at 2:00 pm EST

Fly Down +400 – Reasons For Victory

1. Fly Down is getting better and better as evidenced by his scintillating Dwyer score – - Fly Down is just getting better and better. His Dwyer victory was easily one of the most impressive wins by any horse this year and he should be better after taking almost a month off. Because he’s getting so good at the right time, he’s the horse on which to wager in the horse racing sportsbook to win the Belmont Stakes.

Counter: Or, maybe, he bounces to the moon off of that Dwyer score. Yes, Fly Down is definitely getting better but can he get much better than what he showed in the Dwyer? That was a pretty impressive race. Will he improve off of it, or will he bounce off of it?

2. Fly Down has the perfect style to win the Belmont Stakes – - Fly Down has the ability to lie about 3 to 5 lengths off of Game On Dude and First Dude and then run to the wire first. With such a head start over the closers, he should have no problem holding them at bay as he runs to glory.

Counter: Fly Down’s style does appear to be perfect for this race, but that’s if you believe his Dwyer victory was a true example of his style. In the Louisiana Derby, he was 10 lengths off of the pace at the 2nd call. Is he closer or presser? Also, exactly how fast will First Dude and Game On Dude, should Fly Down press the pace, be going in the Belmont Stakes? If they go too fast, he might get burned up.

If they go to slow, he might not be able to catch them.

3. Fly Down has an amazing turn of foot and that’s the recipe for Belmont Stakes success – - When Fly Down kicks it into gear, he’s impossible to stop. Once he gets going, he’s gong to keep going. His turn of foot is as electric as Afleet Alex’s was in the 2005 Belmont Stakes or Victory Gallop’s in the 1998 Belmont Stakes.

Counter: There’s no counter to this one. Fly Down has an incredible turn of foot and having a turn of foot and using it is a good way to win the Belmont Stakes. He can accelerate much faster than most of his rivals in the Belmont Stakes.

4. Fly Down is bred to run 1 ½ miles – - Because he was sired by Mineshaft, Fly Down is bred to run the 1 ½ mile distance of the Belmont Stakes. Mineshaft was out of A.P. Indy who won the Belmont Stakes in 1992.

Counter: Yes and no. Fly Down is definitely bred to be able to run 1 ½ miles, but until he tries it, there’s no way to really know if he can. He doesn’t get a whole lot of stamina from his mom’s side. So, the jury is still out on whether or not Fly Down can get the distance.

Is Fly Down a good wager at +400 – He’s the best wager in the horse racing sportsbook in my opinion. Yes, he might not want to run 1 ½ miles. Yes, he might bounce off of that terrific Dwyer win. There’s also a chance that he could very well relish the distance and improve off of the Dwyer win.

My feeling is that if he hadn’t steadied in the Louisiana Derby, he very well could have won that race. So, he’d be 4 out of 5 with a third instead of 3 out of 5 with a third going into the Belmont Stakes.

Fly Down is also getting a new jockey for this race.. John Velasquez, who knows Belmont almost as well as Calvin Borel knows Churchill Downs, takes the call on Fly Down because usual rider Jose Lezcano will retain the mount on Ice Box. The jockey switch should prove to be an advantage for Fly Down.

Anyway I look at it, this equine is a fantastic play in the horse racing sportsbook to win the Belmont Stakes at the odds of +400.

Why wait until race day? Log onto the horse racing sportsbook and bet the Belmont Stakes!