The two most important days in horse racing are Friday and Saturday as the Breeders’ Cup wagering odds gets underway. There are six races on Friday, all of which will be televised on ESPN 2 while there are eight races on Saturday with coverage split between ABC and ESPN. This year’s Breeders’ Cup is being held at Santa Anita Park for the second straight year which means the synthetic track. That makes handicapping challenging but it also means upsets and big prices are possible.

The Belmont wagering odds on Dunkirk have been set for the 2009 Belmont Stakes. Leading up to the Kentucky Derby, Dunkirk was considered a serious contender to win but flopped, finishing in eleventh place. According to his trainer, Todd Pletcher, he did not like the track at Churchill Downs and if you listened closely to Pletcher during the week prior to the Derby, you could have picked up clues that he didn’t like Dunkirk’s chances in that race. Now that Belmont week has arrived, things are a bit different for the Belmont Stakes wagering odds. At SBG Global Sportsbook, Dunkirk posts +350 odds to win the 141st Belmont Stakes.

Dunkirk had a four-furlong drill at Belmont on Monday with jockey John Velazquez in the irons and Pletcher was very pleased. "You see his work this morning, you can see he’s got terrific action, a smooth fluid stride and that’s something we never saw at Churchill Downs," he said.   Pletcher really believes that Dunkirk is going to run a huge race on Saturday. "I do. He’s a top quality horse. He has run well in three of his four races. I just draw a line through his Derby because I felt he never handled the surface from the beginning." Pletcher said. Velazquez also believes Dunkirk will run well on Saturday, "He’s probably the right horse, for the right distance, at the right time," Velazquez said. "The distance will help him more than anything else."

The concern that Pletcher has about Saturday’s race is the pace. It looks as if Charitable Man will have it his own way on the lead and Pletcher is concerned no other horse will be able to track him down. And that includes Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. "I’m very concerned about the lack of pace," Pletcher said. "It looks to me that Charitable Man is going to be on an uncontested easy lead. On top of that Charitable Man is probably the horse to beat. He’s coming off a win in the Peter Pan, he’s 2-for-2 over the track, basically he has never been beaten on the dirt (his only loss was on the synthetic track at Keeneland). But most significantly of all, he’s got a pace edge." Pletcher believes Charitable Man could be very tough to catch on an uncontested lead, even for Mine That Bird. "If there is no pace, it’s going to be hard for him to catch a quality horse like Charitable Man if he goes the half in 49 seconds." he added.

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With Mine That Bird getting most of the attention for the 2009 Belmont Stakes betting, it will be interesting to see how Dunkirk does going under the radar. "We skipped the Preakness and a lot of other horses are getting attention, I’ll be interested to see how the public favors him on Saturday." Pletcher said.

The Belmont Stakes odds regarding Rachel Alexandra racing this Saturday have been determined. The Preakness and Derby Oats winner will not be running in the third crown jewel 141st Belmont Stakes. Now the sports wagering focus turns to jockey Calvin Borel as he tries to do be the first jockey to win the Triple Crown aboard two different horses. He won with Kentucky Derby on Mine That Bird and with Rachel Alexandra he took the Preakness. He decided to get back on Mine That Bird for the Belmont. "Now that the decision is made, I am excited to come to New York and ride Mine That Bird in the Belmont Stakes." Borel mentioned.

Mine That Bird is going to be a solid favorite in Belmont Stakes Odds and that might put a little added pressure on Borel. Recent history might not be on Borel’s side either as Belmont Stakes favorites have been a bust recently, including last years’ favorite Big Brown.

Mine That Bird is a big closer but that type of horse rarely wins the Belmont. A horse with tactical speed does far better in Belmont Stakes wagering odds. In the last 30 years, 27 of the 30 winners were within two lengths of the leader at the top of the stretch. That does not bode well for Mine That Bird who has come from the clouds in both the Derby and the Preakness. "If you look at previous Belmonts, the horses closer to the pace tend to win," trainer Chip Woolley said, "People think just because it’s longer it will suit my horse better but history says you need to be closer to the pace so he’s got his work cut out for him. But as far as changing his style, we’re not going to do that. If you change his style he’s not going to finish and I’d rather be finishing than stopping."

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The key to winning at the Belmont is timing everything just right which is where Borel will come into play. "Not only is getting the timing right key but knowing where you are in the race and how much you have to make up is crucial because the track is so much deeper," Woolley said. "If you push the button too early, you sure can come up empty at the wire.” Not all deep closers have failed either, as in 2006 it was Jazil rallying to win after sitting last early in the race.