Can Materiality Beat American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes: Odds at 5-1

Materiality has very slim odds of beating American Pharoah.  The 6-1 price being offered is way to short for this particular Belmont Stakes contender.

He won his first three races, including the Florida Derby, but finished sixth at the Kentucky Derby and skipped the Preakness.  The “jockey factor” will be important here as John Valazquez did win at the Belmont three years ago.

Also we do have to consider that Materiality will be well-rested coming into this race.

Any time you decide to pass a race, you never know if you made the right decision," Trainer Todd Pletcher said. "We felt like it was the right thing at the time and still feel like that, and hopefully for the Belmont, the horses are ready to run as well as they can run."

But even Pletcher knows what he is up against.

“He appears to be maintaining his form really well," Pletcher said of American Pharoah. "It looks like he's training great coming into the race, but it's three races in five weeks, three different tracks and a mile and a half. So we need him to be just a little bit off of his 'A' game and hopefully ours are on theirs."

- Ean Lamb, Gambling911.com