The Belmont Stakes, or the Run for the Carnations, is the last leg of the Triple Crown and differentiates the great horses from the historic ones.
Deciding where to wager for a non-traditional sporting event like Belmont can be tricky. First, since online sports betting isn’t legal in every state, it’s unclear if it’s legal for players in some states to wager. It’s important to note that, yes, it is legal to wager on Belmont even if you’re in a state like California where online sports betting isn’t legal.
Two of the most trusted names in sports betting today are DraftKings and FanDuel. Both these sportsbook giants offer users different ways to wager on Belmont based on where they’re betting from and how much they’re wagering.
Here’s the short version:
- In most states where FanDuel Sportsbook is legal, you can bet horse racing right in the app. New Jersey is one of the only exceptions. You can also bet at a separate FanDuel Racing app in many states where sports betting isn’t legal, like California and Florida.
- You can’t bet horse racing right in the DraftKings Sportsbook app in any state. You need a separate app -- DK Horse -- which only operates in a dozen states.
Betting on horse racing
First and foremost, horse racing is not like normal sports betting. In a standard MLB, NBA, NFL or NHL game, users will wager on the total number of points, which team wins or even how a specific player performs.
These odds are set by bookmakers, and don’t necessarily reflect the public’s support of an individual market.
However, horse racing is pari-mutuel so the odds are determined by the amount of money on a particular horse. The more money on a certain horse, the better their odds of winning and vice versa.
This different wagering type has always been legal in more states, which has allowed horse racing betting to go on in most of the country.
FanDuel
FanDuel has rapidly become one of the biggest books in the U.S. They offer odds on everything imaginable and it is all relatively competitive.
In short, yes players can wager on Belmont Stakes with FanDuel -- depending on the state, you can bet directly in the FanDuel Sportsbook app.
If you live in a state where online sports betting is legal, you can go to FanDuel Sportsbook and wager on Belmont as you would with any other sporting event. However, if you happen to live in a state that has not yet legalized online sports betting, you’ll need to go to the FanDuel Racing app and place your wagers there.
FanDuel Racing
The FanDuel Racing promotion, which again is only valid in states that have not legalized online sports betting, gives new users up to $20 in bonus bets if their first wager doesn’t win.
As is the case with all new customer promotions, this offer is limited to new customers who are at least 21 years old.
Any bonus bets earned from this promotion can be used for additional wagers on the FanDuel Racing platform but cannot be withdrawn or cashed out.
This promotion doesn’t require a promo code so users can simply click the module above and input the relevant personal information to claim this offer.
FanDuel Sportsbook
Similar to the FanDuel Racing promotion, new users can get up to $20 in bonus bets if their first wager doesn’t win.
Critically, this promotion is only applicable to straight wagers and any exotic bets will not qualify for this offer.
Again, any bonus bets earned from this promotion can be used for wagers on the FanDuel Sportsbook platform but cannot be withdrawn or cashed out. Similar to other promotions that include bonus bets, said credits are only valid for one wager each and thus, will not be returned in the event of a successful wager.
Similar to the offer above, this promotion doesn’t require a promo code so users can simply click the module above and input the relevant personal information to claim this offer.
For this specific event though, there are essentially two options based on where users are located. As noted above, many players across the country can bet on Belmont regardless of whether online sports betting is legal in your specific state. There are still some states where horse betting is not legal, like Texas and Georgia.
The interfaces are very similar and, as users will see below, the promotions for both are the same value. The only difference is where users are located and the regulations around gambling in that specific state.
We’ll explain both the FanDuel Racing promotion and the FanDuel Sportsbook promotion below.
DraftKings
DraftKings is another sports betting giant. Along with FanDuel, DK has become one of the biggest names in U.S. sports betting with markets on everything from the NBA Playoffs to cornhole.
Even with this wide range of markets, the horse racing situation at DraftKings is a bit complex. In short though, yes users can bet Belmont with DraftKings, but not in the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
Users will need to register with DK Horse app to place their Belmont bets. And it’s only available in a handful of states -- Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming.
DK Horse
The current DK Horse new user promotion is one of the best racing promotions in the country. New users can get a complete deposit match of up to $250 when they use the code HORSE at sign up.
Notably though, users need to register their DK Horse account and make a minimum deposit of $25 to trigger this offer. Additionally, there is a 2x play-through requirement, so users will need to bet a total of $500 to get the full $250 deposit match.
As is the case with all the promotions listed here, these offers are limited to new customers only.
Belmont odds
The table below shows the displayed odds as of Friday, June 8, for the 2023 Belmont Stakes.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel
Horse | Odds |
Tapit Shoes | 20-1 |
Tapit Trice | 3-1 |
Arcangelo | 8-1 |
National Treasure | 5-1 |
Il Miracolo | 30-1 |
Currently, Tapit Trice, Arcangelo and National Treasure have the best odds to win, which — as noted above — indicates that a vast majority of the public is putting their money behind those three horses.
Tapit Shoes is in the top gate and will have prime position when the race starts.
National Treasure has performed well in the first two Triple Crown races and will look to build on that momentum.