Belmont Odds Shorten Across Board For Nest, Creative Minister

• Todd Pletcher is Nest’s trainer for Belmont, and he trained two winning horses in 2021 (Kentucky Oaks, Ashland Stakes)
• Creative Mininster is being joined for the 2022 Belmont with John Velazquez, who won six total Triple Crowns.
• Both Nest and Creative Minister have +650 odds to win the 2022 Belmont Stakes.

NEW YORK – The 2022 Belmont Stakes are kicking off on Saturday evening, and the odds for Nest and Creative Minister have both been updated in their favor. Mo Donegal is still the favorite horse, but could see some competition during the big race.

Odds To Win Belmont

• Mo Donegal +250
• We The People +300
• Rich Strike +450
• Creative Minister +650
• Nest +650
• Golden Glider +2200

Both currently sitting at +650, Nest and Creative Minister are tied for the fourth favorite to win the Belmont, and still have favorable odds that would result in a high potential payout. They used to have even longer odds, but legal sports betting sites have altered their odds, in preparation for Saturday.

Previous Odds To Win Belmont 5/25/22

• Mo Donegal +300
• Rich Strike +350
• We The People +350
• Creative Minister +500
• Nest +800
• Golden Glider +2000

While both horses’ odds have shortened, Nest has seen the most dramatic odds shift so far, but has the history to back it up. A lot of Nests past successes come from Todd Pletcher, Nest’s trainer.

Betting On The Trainer – Todd Pletcher

Todd Pletcher is no stranger to winning horse racing events. Training Malathaat, the American Thoroughbred received first in the Ashland Stakes and Kentucky Oaks, in 2021 in both events.

Odds When Malathaat Won In 2021

• Kentucky Oaks +250
• Ashland Stakes +180

Pletcher’s Derby Success

• Kentucky Derby 2017 – Pletcher trained Always Dreaming and won the Derby, with +500 odds before the event began.
• Kentucky Derby 2010 – Being Pletcher’s first Derby win, he trained Eskendereya and the colt had +180 odds to finish first.

Belmont Success From Pletcher’s Training

1. 2017 – Won with Tapwrit and Jose Ortiz Jr. as the jockey (+600 odds)
2. 2013 – Won with Palace Malice and Mike Smith as the jockey (+1500 odds)
3. 2007 – Won with Rags To Riches and John Velazquez as the jockey.

By showing he can train different horses, with multiple different Jockeys, Pletcher has shown that his training prepares these young horses to fight for first, and there are many horse betting opportunities when Pletcher is the trainer.

Between Pletcher’s past success in various Stakes, and Nest coming into the race with four career wins already, Nest is a longshot that is sitting in a great position, but Nest’s Jockey has not yet been announced.

Betting On The Jockey – John Velazquez

Being a hall of fame horse racer and one of the top earning Jockeys in the United States, Velazquez has six Triple Crown wins in his career and has won 15 Breeder’s Cups. He was the Jockey that helped Malathaat and Todd Pletcher win the Ashland Stakes and the Kentucky Oaks Stakes in 2021.

For the 2022 Belmont Stakes, Velazquez will be racing Creative Minister, giving the horse with long odds (+650) a great shot at winning. He has shown he can still win, and will have the opportunity to claim another Stakes for his legendary career on Saturday.

News tags: Belmont Stakes | Creative minister | John Velazquez | Kentucky Derby | Mo Donegal | Nest | Todd Pletcher