HORSE RACING

Longshot Skippylongstocking Is an Unlikely Board Hitter in the 2022 Belmont Stakes

The 2022 Belmont Stakes is Saturday, June 11 with post time at 6:49 p.m. EST. Using TVG projections and Horse Racing Nation as a guide, here are the horse profiles for the 1.5-mile “Test of the Champion” at Belmont Park.

New players, sign up today for FanDuel Racing, make your first deposit, and get enhanced odds on any single horse to win the Belmont. Bet the Belmont Stakes!

As always, check the program for racing information, odds and monitor the weather and track conditions.

(I may reference BRIS and Equibase's Speed Figures, which tells you how fast a horse has been running in each of its races -- adjusted for track, distances, and conditions.)

#2 Skippylongstocking

Morning Line Odds: 20/1
Bet Now at TVG

Trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., Skippylongstocking was installed at 20/1 on the morning line odds.

Skippylongstocking finished fifth in the Preakness, more than 7 lengths behind winner Early Voting. He didn’t factor in the Wood Memorial, the race prior, finishing nearly 4 lengths behind winner Mo Donegal.

This will now be his ninth start with no break, and he’s done his best running at Gulfstream against easier competition. Skippylongstocking will likely be pressing the early leader, We the People, but he’s unlikely to hold up with quality off-the-pace runners in this field.

This is Saffie Joseph's first Belmont Stakes runner, and he makes the jockey switch to Manny Franco. Skippylongstocking is a son of 2016 Preakness winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up Exaggerator, who did not factor as the Belmont Stakes favorite.

There have been eight Belmont winners with double-digit odds across the last 15 years, but Skippylonstocking’s form cycle analysis reveals that he’s likely peaked and is unlikely to move forward in the Belmont Stakes.