2023 Belmont Stakes predictions, odds, date, contenders: Expert who nailed last year’s exacta shares picks

Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire will try to end a 132-year drought when he leaves the starting gate in the 2023 Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park. A Pennsylvania-bred, Angel of Empire is looking to become the first horse born in the Keystone State to win the Test of the Champion since Foxford did so in 1891. Just two other Pennsylvania-breds, Saunterer in 1881 and Panique in 1884, have won the Belmont Stakes. Angel of Empire, who is coming off a third place finish in the Kentucky Derby, is 7-2 in the 2023 Belmont Stakes odds. Forte (5-2) and Tapit Trice (3-1), who are both Kentucky-breds, are the favorite and second favorite, respectively, in the nine-horse 2023 Belmont Stakes field.

Post time is 7:02 p.m. ET. With an evenly-matched field set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you’ll want to see what astute racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any Belmont Stakes picks.

Few people in racing are as well-connected as Yu. An on-air host and reporter who has provided racing analysis for TVG, HRTV and the Breeders’ Cup, Yu has spent a lifetime in racing. Prior to her television career, she worked for trainers Steve Asmussen and Ron Moquett. She also is married to Santa Anita-based trainer Ryan Hanson.

Yu also has tremendous handicapping chops. In a wide-open Kentucky Derby in 2021, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1. In Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager last year, she suggested a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at a whopping 18-1 when Rich Strike won the Derby. In last year’s Belmont Stakes, she correctly picked the winner (Mo Donegal) and exacta (Mo Donegal and Nest).

Since the end of February, she has crushed the Saudi Cup, riding a 15-1 winner, nailed Derma Sotogake to win the UAE Derby and hit the exacta in the Santa Anita Derby. In the last three weeks, she has hit the exacta in the Preakness Stakes and Hollywood Gold Cup and had both the winner and exacta in the Summertime Oaks.

Now, Yu has handicapped the 2023 Belmont Stakes odds, made her picks and constructed her 2023 Belmont Stakes bets. Click here to see them.

Top Belmont Stakes predictions

One surprise: Yu’s top pick is not Forte, even though he is the reigning two-year-old champion and 5-2 Belmont Stakes favorite. Trained by four-time Belmont Stakes-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, Forte has lost only once in seven career starts.

However, Forte isn’t bred to excel at the Belmont’s 1½-mile distance. The average winning distance of progeny of his sire, Violence, is 6.7 furlongs. That’s the shortest of all the 2023 Belmont Stakes horses. “I am still skeptical of his distance abilities,” Yu told SportsLine. She is using Forte only sparingly in her 2023 Belmont Stakes bets. See which 2023 Belmont Stakes horses Yu is backing at SportsLine.

How to make Belmont Stakes picks

Yu’s top pick is a horse who is “finding his stride.” She also is high on a horse who has a chance to “run a big one.” She’s only sharing which 2023 Belmont Stakes horses to back at SportsLine.

So what horse wins the Belmont Stakes 2023, and which horse drew the perfect post? See the latest 2023 Belmont Stakes odds below and then visit SportsLine to see Yu’s picks for the Belmont Stakes, all from the insider who nailed last year’s exacta, and find out.