150th Belmont Stakes capsules

1. Justify (4-5 odds)

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Mike Smith

Record: 5-0-0 in five starts

Notable: Attempting to become horse racing's 13th Triple Crown winner, Justify has yet to take a backward step in his career. He didn't produce a scintillating performance in the Preakness Stakes, but he has held his weight and trained well in the three weeks since. The biggest question might be if he's suited to the 1 ¹⁄₂-mile distance and whether Smith can relax him early in the race, particularly from the No. 1 post position.

2. Free Drop Billy (30-1)

Trainer: Dale Romans

Jockey: Robby Albarado

Record: 2-3-2 in nine starts

Notable: Considered one of the top 2-year-olds last fall when he won the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity, he's yet to run back to that form at 3. Though his 16th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby inspires no confidence in his ability to compete at this level, he's back in the Belmont largely due to his stamina-heavy bloodlines as the son of 2012 winner Union Rags.

3. Bravazo (8-1)

Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas

Jockey: Luis Saez

Record: 3-2-1 in 10 starts

Notable: Had the Preakness been 50 yards longer, he'd likely have won the race. That second-place performance gave Lukas enough encouragement to bring Bravazo back for the Belmont, where his closing kick could be effective in the long stretch run. This seems to be an improving horse, who also ran a good sixth in the Derby despite a rough trip.

4. Hofburg (9-2)

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Record: 1-1-0 in four starts

Notable: A number of sharp handicappers jumped on his bandwagon at the Derby, but he lost all chance when he was bumped at the start and shuffled to the back of the pack, encountering more traffic trouble before rallying to a seventh-place finish. He has just one win in four starts, but he's a talented colt whose sire, Tapit, has produced three of the last four Belmont Stakes winners.

5. Restoring Hope (30-1)

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Florent Geroux

Record: 1-1-2 in five starts

Notable: Baffert's second trainee is a significant long shot with one win in five starts, but his owners wanted to take a shot in the Belmont. His last start, a 12th-place finish in the Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard, is a complete throwout as he didn't handle the sloppy track at Churchill Downs.

6. Gronkowski (12-1)

Trainer: Chad Brown

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

Record: 4-1-0 in six starts

Notable: He won four in a row in Britain, all at the 1-mile distance, before being transferred to New York-based trainer Brown to prepare for the Belmont. Because of his namesake's popularity, Gronkowski is almost assuredly going to be overbet. But it would be an interesting story if Rob Gronkowski, who now owns a small piece of the horse, gets to fiesta in the winner's circle.

7. Tenfold (12-1)

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.

Record: 2-0-1 in four starts

Notable: The Belmont is one of the few races where pedigree still matters, and his bloodlines strongly suggest he'll get the distance with former Horse of the Year Curlin on the top side and Tapit in his mother's family. Given his inexperience with just four starts, he ran an impressive, closing third in the Preakness and should move forward off that race. Asmussen won the Belmont in 2016 with Creator.

8. Vino Rosso (8-1)

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: John Velazquez

Record: 3-0-1 in six starts

Notable: Didn't really make an impact in the Derby, finishing ninth, but has followed the Pletcher model of skipping the Preakness and returning to his home track to prepare for this race. If he runs back to his Wood Memorial win in April, he'll have a chance. But that race, so far, stands out as the anomaly in a mediocre career thus far against stakes competition.

9. Noble Indy (30-1)

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Javier Castellano

Record: 3-0-1 in five starts

Notable: Co-owner Mike Repole, a New Yorker who is also partners in Vino Rosso, wants to win the Belmont more than any other race. Typically a horse with early speed, he didn't seem to like the track in the Derby, as he ended up settling in about 5 lengths off the lead before fading to 17th. He'll be a likely candidate to set the pace this time.

10. Blended Citizen (15-1)

Trainer: Doug O'Neill

Jockey: Kyle Frey

Record: 3-0-2 in 10 starts

Notable: Had he qualified for the Kentucky Derby (he was 21st on the points list, just missing the cut), he might have been an interesting long shot. But the late-blooming colt instead won the Grade 3 Peter Pan with a stout stretch rally May 12 as a prep for the Belmont. O'Neill is a two-time Kentucky Derby winner with I'll Have Another and Nyquist.

— USA Today