Belmont Stakes Betting: 3 Dark Horse Picks to Win Today's Belmont Stakes

Key Takeaways:

• Crudo (15-1 ML) is lightly raced but improving fast, with back-to-back dominant wins and top trainer/jockey connections; for the 2025 Belmont Stakes, he'll need to prove he can handle a class jump and potential pace pressure.
• Hill Road (10-1 ML) comes off a Peter Pan Stakes win and is a strong late runner, but he’ll need a fast early pace to help his closing style and must prove he belongs with top-tier competition.
• Uncaged (30-1 ML) looks like a 2025 Belmont Stakes underdog on paper but has upside on a muddy track and the pedigree to stretch out, making him a potential sleeper for exotic tickets.

The 2025 Belmont Stakes is happening today! For the second year in a row, it will not be run at its usual home of Belmont Park, which is still under construction. The race will return to its traditional home and 1 ½-mile distance in 2026, but for now, the final leg of the Triple Crown will be run one more time at 1 ¼ miles on the dirt in Saratoga Springs.

The 2025 Belmont Stakes field drew an exciting group of eight horses. The starting gate for the final jewel of the Triple Crown includes Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty, Preakness Stakes winner Journalism, Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Baeza, Hill Road and Uncaged from the Peter Pan Stakes (G3), Heart of Honor trying to bounce back from an off-the-board run in the Preakness, Rodriguez back from the foot injury that kept him out of the Kentucky Derby, and Crudo, stepping up to graded-stakes company for the first time after a dazzling win on the Preakness Stakes undercard.

Here are three 2025 Belmont Stakes longshots to consider putting into your exotic bets.

Get ready to bet on the Belmont Stakes winner with FanDuel Racing. Explore the exciting 2025 Belmont promos available on FDR. Stay updated on the Belmont Stakes odds as we approach The Test of the Champion!

New FanDuel Racing users are included in the excitement with a chance to get your first win wager on a single horse in any race at any track up to $500 back if you lose!

1. Crudo (2025 Belmont Stakes odds: 15-1 ML)

Crudo is the real up-and-comer in the 2025 Belmont Stakes. He has raced just three times, meaning he cedes experience to his foes, but he is going the right way for trainer Todd Pletcher, a New York regular who always shines in the Belmont Stakes. Pletcher has two horses here, and Crudo is the “A” entry. He also gets jockey John Velazquez in the irons, the most experienced Belmont Stakes jockey of all time, and a frequent rider of good horses for the barn.

Class is a question for Crudo, of course. He has yet to race in graded stakes, or even open stakes, company. He took two attempts to break his maiden, and after winning in blowout fashion at Keeneland, he stepped up to the Sir Barton Stakes, a race on the Preakness undercard for horses who had never won an open stakes race. However, he won that in romping fashion as well, making it clear that he deserves a shot against even better foes.

Pace is another question for this son of Justify—he was defeated on debut when he didn’t get the lead, but won in impressive fashion in each of his last two starts, when he was able to make the running. With Rodriguez in the field, there is a risk that Crudo could get caught up in a pace battle. However, with Crudo drawn to the outside of Rodriguez, he has a bit better chance at a clean trip.

Crudo also has more upside than Rodriguez has to prove that he isn’t just a one-way speed type. After all, Rodriguez has already shown in both two-turn races and stakes races that he isn’t the same horse if he doesn’t make the top. However, Crudo’s only defeat came in a six-furlong sprint on debut after a bad start. His next two races have made it clear that poor starts aren’t a habit for Crudo…and at the price, there’s room for him to prove that he can be pressing or even tactical now that he’s got a bit more experience behind him.

2. Hill Road (2025 Belmont Stakes odds: 10-1 ML)

Hill Road got his start on the turf in Europe for trainer Adrian Murray. However, after a longshot third-place run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall at Del Mar, the son of Quality Road was turned over to Chad Brown and kept in the United States for a campaign on the dirt. His effort in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3), his sophomore debut, had a lot in common with his tilt at the Breeders’ Cup: he made a late run but never looked like a winner, and he finished third.

He took a nice step up, two months later in the Peter Pan. The beginning was less than auspicious, as he stumbled and did not get a torrid pace in front of him. However, he really got rolling in the lane, getting up to win by three-quarters of a length over McAfee. It was a nice step up from the Tampa Bay Derby effort. It also made the Belmont Stakes a logical next step—both because the Peter Pan has been a live recent prep for the race, and because his pedigree suggests more distance might suit him well.

The concern is that, especially if he’s facing classier horses, Hill Road does better with more pace. The pace setups in both the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Tampa Bay Derby weren’t great; the Peter Pan wasn’t perfect, but it was better, and it was against an overall softer field. But, if it turns out that Crudo is determined to go to the lead—and Rodriguez certainly will be!—then Hill Road could be well suited to come running late and get a piece of the pie.

3. Uncaged (2025 Belmont Stakes odds: 30-1 ML)

The fact that Uncaged is even among the 2025 Belmont Stakes horses came as a bit of a surprise—after all, owner Mike Repole said he was entering Uncaged because it looked like the field was coming up a little light. And, it’s true, Uncaged has a lot to prove stepping into a Triple Crown race for the first time. His speed figures need a step up, his only graded-stakes outing was a well-beaten sixth behind Hill Road in the Peter Pan, and now he steps up in class instead of getting a break. But, there are reasons to think he can improve enough for a piece at a huge price.

For one, the weather bodes well for Uncaged. The closer Belmont Stakes day draws, the rainier the forecast for Saratoga Race Course has been getting. His debut maiden win—which also came at Saratoga!—came in the mud. His allowance win at Aqueduct in April also came over a muddy track. So, whether it’s a good race/bad race pattern or, more likely, he fares better when the track turns up wet? The situation looks ripe for Uncaged to perform one of his better efforts.

The distance is, of course, another question. His only two-turn race was the Peter Pan last out, a race in which he came up flat. However, he could be a better fit for that experience. And, his pedigree appeals for the extra distance, even more so than his Todd Pletcher stablemate, Crudo. Uncaged is by superstar classic-distance sire Curlin, who has left his mark on the Triple Crown series for over a decade now, out of a Pioneerof the Nile mare with some turf route class in the family tree. This gives him upside at the Belmont Stakes trip.

New to FanDuel Racing? Place your first bet up to $500 and get it back in Racing Bonus if it doesn’t win! Valid in participating states. See here for full terms and conditions. Head over to FanDuel Racing to see all of today’s horse racing odds.

Looking for more horse racing betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Racing to see all of today’s horse racing odds.

Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit RG-help.com.
Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT). Hope is here. GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support (MA). Visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD). Call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY).
21+ and reside in AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, ID, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA (permitted parishes only), MD, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NM, NY, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, SD, VA, WA, WV, or WY. Offer valid on first real-money wager of $0.10 or more. Verified FD Racing account required. Bonus issued in non-withdrawable Racing site credit that expires 7 days after issuance. Max refund $500. Restrictions apply. See terms at racing.fanduel.com. Offer not available in D.C., KS, NC, NJ, TN, or VT.