A 13-1 underdog at the bookmaker came through to win the $1 million dollar Belmont Stakes on Saturday as Drosselmeyer won the third race of horse racing’s Triple Crown. The offshore betting win was a bit of an upset as Drosselmeyer was listed at double-digits odds.
Bookmaker odds listed Ice Box as the favorite in the Belmont but the horse was never in the picture and finished a disappointing ninth. The winner of the Belmont ended up being Drosselmeyer, a horse who had continually underachieved before the Belmont. He came through on Saturday though and gave Hall of Famers Bill Mott and Mike Smith their first wins in the Belmont. Mike Smith had never won the Belmont in 12 tries while Mott had never won a Triple Crown race. Both of those droughts are now over.
The Belmont did not have a Triple Crown on the line and in fact it did not have either Derby winner Super Saver or Preakness winner Lookin at Lucky. Ice Box was supposed to be the star of the race but he didn’t run a lick as the bookmaker favorite. Preakness runner-up First Dude did his part but he couldn’t hold off Drosselmeyer and ended up finishing third. Fly Down was able to get past First Dude for second but he ran out of time to get to Drossselmeyer.
The win by Drosselmeyer was an upset at the bookmaker but there is no question the horse has talent. He was expected to be better than Super Saver, the horse that won the Derby but the horse never got things together and didn’t have the earnings to make the race. He lost to Fly Down in the Dwyer Stakes by six lengths. The switch to Mike Smith as the jockey may have been a big move that got the horse going in the right direction. Mott switched from Kent Desormeaux to Mike Smith and his jockey change looks brilliant after Drosselmeyer won the Belmont. WinStar Farm had a very good Triple Crown as they won with Super Saver in the Derby vs. the bookmaker odds and with Drosselmeyer in the Belmont.
In Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, Smith made a good decision to keep Drosselmeyer out of trouble even as he went five wide on the final turn. The horse paid $28, $11.60 and $7.70 in online betting. Fly Down ended up second and paid $6.80 and $5.10 while First Dude paid $4.90 to show.