Matuszak Belmont Preview
ELMONT PARK, NY (The Spread) – The 2014 Belmont Stakes is quickly approaching and one of the true long shots to win is Matuszak, who has the worst odds in the field.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetDSI, Matuszak is 50/1 to win this Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. As previously mentioned, he has the longest odds to win, putting him in the same class as Matterhorn (40/1) and Commissioner (33/1). California Chrome, meanwhile, is a 10/11 favorite as he looks to win the first Triple Crown since 1978.
Matuszak has only competed in two graded stakes races during his career and the results were uninspiring. He finished sixth in the Grade II Remsen in November of last year and finished fourth in the Grade II Jerome on January 4 of this year. Saturday will be his first Grade 1 start.
That said, if you’re looking for some positives, Matuszak did finish in the money in his last three races. He placed third in an Allowance on January 26 and in the Private Terms on March 8 before finishing second in the Federico Tesio on April 19, losing to only Kid Cruz. Unfortunately both of those outings didn’t come against very good competition so it’s difficult to forecast how Matuszak will fare over the weekend.
One positive is that Matuszak’s pedigree includes Bernardini, who won the 2006 Preakness Stakes and also finished first in the Jim Dany, Travers Stakes and Jockey Club Gold Cup before rounding out his career with a second-place showing in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. So at the very least, Matuszak doesn’t have competitive bloodlines.
The 2014 Belmont Stakes will take place on Saturday, June 7 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
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