2008 Belmont Stakes Betting Odds - Denis of Cork Ready to Improve

[Shame About Ray]

When Denis of Cork enters the starting gate on June 7th for the 2008 Belmont Stakes, he and the horse race betting community will enter with a few questions. One, of course, will be whether or not his fantastic closing kick will help him in that long Belmont stretch drive.

But questions regarding the horse’s ability to finish in his races, or how big his heart is, for that matter, were decided by his terrific race in the Kentucky Derby. For those who forget, Denis of Cork was pretty much the only horse closing on Big Brown and Eight Belles in the Derby.

Denis of Cork ended up losing the Kentucky Derby by eight lengths, but the move he made in the lane in the Kentucky Derby cannot be ignored by horse betting enthusiasts. It was actually very impressive for a horse in only his fifth lifetime race and one coming off of a less then stellar performance in the race before. In the Illinois Derby, where Denis of Cork was going off as the even money favorite, the horse appeared to spin his wheels. He never made up ground on the front-running Recapturetheglory. That, more then anything, caused Denis of Cork to go off at 26 to 1 off track betting odds in the Kentucky Derby.

The Belmont Stakes could be a different story for Denis of Cork. Why? First, the move that he performed in the Kentucky Derby could be much more effective for the simple fact that Big Brown will have to go an extra ¼ mile in the Belmont Stakes. If Denis of Cork could sustain an incredibly fruitful move like the one he did in the Kentucky Derby in the Belmont Stakes, then I’d have to give him a shot in the Belmont.


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