It's two down, one to go at the Belmont Stakes before horse racing fades from the American sports radar.
Although there won't be a Triple Crown quest in 2019 at Belmont Park, the good news is that betting on horse racing is more mainstream than ever in the United States regardless of who's running in the race. And to follow the unpredictable Kentucky Derby and Preakness, there isn't a clear-cut betting favorite this year.
A parimutuel system is used in horse racing, which is different from betting on a basketball or football game against a point spread in Las Vegas. Bettors aren't wagering against the bookie or house, but against each other, and the house takes a cut. So these numbers could change plenty between now and Belmont post time (6:48 p.m. ET) on June 8. It also means odds aren't fixed at the time of the bet.
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Preakness 2019 odds, post positions
| Position | Horse | Odds |
| No. 1 | Joevia | 30-1 |
| No. 2 | Everfast | 12-1 |
| No. 3 | Master Fencer | 8-1 |
| No. 4 | Tax | 15-1 |
| No. 5 | Bourbon War | 12-1 |
| No. 6 | Spinoff | 15-1 |
| No. 7 | Sir Winston | 12-1 |
| No. 8 | Intrepid Heart | 10-1 |
| No. 9 | War of Will | 2-1 |
| No. 10 | Tacitus | 9-5 |
Morning line odds will be updated through June 8
Preakness 2019 picks, top contenders
Tacitus has much on its side and will be ready to duel War of Will through the final stretch. But look for some separation there in ideal track conditions, with Intrepid Heart flying in between them for a one-spot improvement at Belmont.
War of Will can think about what could have been at the Kentucky Derby, but there's no doubt Casse and Gaffalione will end up very thrilled with their Triple Crown season. They will get their horse to respond well again when everything counts the most.
| Win: War of Will |
| Place: Intrepid Heart |
| Show: Tacitus |
How to bet on horse racing
If you're betting at a window, whether it be at Belmont Park or your local track simulcasting the Belmont Stakes, say the name of the track, the number race you're betting, how much you want to wager, the type of wager and the numbers (post positions) of the horses you're including in your bet.
Horse racing wager types
There are tons of different ways to bet on a horse race, but here are some of the most common and ones you'll likely hear about come Belmont time on Saturday.
— Win, place, show, or first, second and third. When you bet on the winner, you simply get the horse at its odds and if it wins, you cash that amount. So $10 on a horse at 12-to-1 nets you $120. If you bet on a horse to "place," or come in second, the payout is less, and same goes for "show."
You can make an "across the board" wager on a horse — a bet on that horse to win, place and show. If the horse wins, you collect all three; if second, two ways; and if third, one way, losing the win and place bets.
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— Exacta, trifecta, superfecta. These wagers force a player to pick the exact finishing order of the top two, three or four horses, respectively. The payouts are multiplied the more horses you put in these bets.
You can also "box" an exacta, trifecta or superfecta, which means you bet on all the possible combinations. So if I bet a trifecta box on Tacitus, Tax and War of Will in the Belmont, I'd actually be making six bets because I'm taking all six possible combinations.
— Pick three (or four, or five, or six). This involves picking the winners of several different races at a track on a given day. It often pays out the entire pool.
Steve Petrella contributed to this article.
