In the 2007 Belmont Stakes, Todd Pletcher-trained filly Rags To Riches was able to outrun Curlin, who was the 6-5 favorite, by five-and-a-half lengths. Just a few years later, Curlin went on to sire Nest, a filly set to run at the Belmont Stakes 2022 that is trained by Pletcher. Nest is getting 8-1 in the 2022 Belmont Stakes odds to win this year’s final jewel of the Triple Crown — not quite the 3-1 option Rags To Riches was, but can she provide an upset just the same this Saturday?
Nest finished second at the Kentucky Oaks, but had won her three previous races. She’ll have to outrun Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (5-1) as well as Mo Donegal (5-2) and a host of other 2022 Belmont Stakes contenders if she stands a chance of giving Pletcher his fourth win at the Belmont Stakes. With so much to consider, you’ll want to see what SportsLine’s Jody Demling has to say before entering any 2022 Belmont Stakes picks or horse racing predictions of your own, considering his spectacular track record in this race.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling enters the Belmont Stakes 2022 having nailed the winner of this race three of the last four years. He hit the exacta, trifecta, and superfecta in last year’s Belmont Stakes with Essential Qualiy. Two years ago, Demling said Tiz the Law was clearly the class of the field, and Barclay Tagg’s horse pulled away for a convincing 3 3/4-length victory. In 2018, he was all over Justify, jockey Mike Smith, and trainer Bob Baffert to make horse racing history at Belmont Park. The result: Justify became just the 13th Triple Crown winner ever, and anyone who followed Demling’s lead cashed in too.
He’s coming off a major heater in 2020: At one point, he picked the winners of six straight races: the Saudi Cup, Gotham Stakes, Rebel Stakes, Louisiana Derby, Florida Derby and Belmont Stakes.
Demling is at his best in the biggest horse races in the world. He has hit 10 of the last 14 Derby-Oaks doubles at Churchill Downs. That means he held a ticket with the winners of both races all but four times in the last 14 years. He’s also called nine of the last 18 Preakness winners, keenly understanding when the Kentucky Derby winner was poised for victory or a massive upset, and nailed this year’s Preakness trifecta. Anyone who has followed him is up huge.
Now, with the Belmont Stakes 2022 approaching, Demling is sharing his picks and predictions over at SportsLine. Go here to see them.
Top 2022 Belmont Stakes predictions
One of Demling’s surprising 2022 Belmont Stakes picks: He is fading We the People, even though he is one of the favorites and coming off of a win at the Peter Pan Stakes. We The People comes from the same bloodline that produced last year’s Belmont Stakes winner, Essential Quality. Tapit sired Essential Quality, and was the grandsire to We the People.
The recent respect that We the People has garnered following his win at Peter Pan could be questioned a bit as it came on a wet track. The bigger question for We the People is which of the other horses will provide the pace. We the People can run with any horse on the long stretch towards the end, but if another one of the top horses gets out to a fast break, it will complicate things for We the People, who will be saving for a late burst on the mile-and-a-half route.
