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What could have been.
Trainer Bill Mott opted to bypass the Preakness Stakes following his horse Sovereignty winning the Kentucky Derby.
On Saturday, Sovereignty went on to win the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes.
Had he entered Sovereignty in the Preakness Stakes, Mott could potentially have had a Triple Crown winner.
Of course there is always the possibility that his horse would not have won the Preakness Stakes and could have been too worn out to win Saturday's Belmont Stakes.
Again, what could have been. We will never know.
“I think they are three really good horses,” Mott said after the race. “I’m glad (Sovereignty) was able to come back and have a race like he did in the Derby.”
It was the second Belmont win for Mott.
“This is home,” Mott said. “It’s the race we were pointing for after the Derby, and fortunately it worked out very well… The horse was good. Junior rode him well.”
The 5-2 second favorite finished in 2:00.69, beating Preakness winner Journalism by three lengths.
“He broke very well again today like he’s been doing,” Alverado said. “He put himself in a good spot. I was a little shocked how close, but at the same time, I’m happy with how easily he was doing everything. As a jockey, I was very happy where he was.”
Journalism ended up in second again, and Baeza was third — the same 1-2-3 as the Kentucky Derby. Journalism, the only horse to run in all three legs, entered the gate at the Belmont as the 2-1 favorite, with Baeza the third favorite at 7-2.
Local bookies were disappointed over the lost potential of a Triple Crown as recreational gamblers lost interest with Sovereignty being pulled. Still, with the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner competing in this weekend's Belmont Stakes race, betting volume was expected to be more than the Preakness Stakes.
Polymarket reported just over $48,000 bet on the Belmont Stakes, though it is important to understand they do not accept bets from the US.
The horse betting industry is worth over $100 billion in the US alone. Local bookies do themselves (and their customers) a disservice by not offering a horse racing betting platform. Some providers, including our friends at AcePerHead.com, even take bets on racing events across the world.
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