Steve Haskin's Belmont Analysis: Uh, well, let's see, hmmm....

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Let's be honest, you don't need to come here, or anywhere for that matter, to get an expert opinion on who's going to win the Belmont Stakes. The truth is, no one, whether a handicapper or handy man, has a clue what's going to happen.

Even the trainers of the Belmont horses admit they have no idea what to expect. If anyone can honestly say they know whether Funny Cide's work took too much out of him; whether he can turn in his fourth straight monster effort; whether he truly wants to go 1 ½ miles; whether Empire Maker can turn the tables on Funny Cide; whether he truly wants to go 1 ½ miles; whether Dynever can jump way up in class after running against lesser opposition; whether Ten Most Wanted can rebound off his disappointing effort in the Kentucky Derby after suffering a back injury; whether his Illinois Derby win against a mediocre field justifies his beating the two favorites; whether he truly wants to go 1 ½ miles; whether Scrimshaw can make up the 10 ½ lengths he was beaten in the Preakness; and whether he truly wants to go 1 ½ miles, then you can listen to their expert opinion.

From a betting standpoint, this one is pretty simple. First off, you bet $2 to win on Funny Cide and pocket the ticket for posterity if he wins. Exactas and trifectas with the two favorites are not worth the trouble in a six-horse field, especially with so many question marks. That leaves two horses who would be smart win bets if either should upset the two favorites.

First off, we must say that, from a physical standpoint, Funny Cide and Empire Maker could not be doing any better. Everything has worked out perfectly for them in their training, and both are coming into the race with an extremely high energy level. Funny Cide, especially, is a machine right now, and is as strong as you'd ever want a horse to be. Whether he's too strong, we'll have to wait to find out. His 5-furlong work in :57 4/5 isn't was as worrisome as his :45 half. With his love for an off track, his natural blazing speed, and his strong bottom line, the feeling here is that an off track will help him more than the others. If you're a Funny Cide fan, and are looking for history finally to be made, you have to go into the race with a lot of confidence. Simply put, this horse is doing awesome. While he was very strong jogging to the gate to be schooled early this morning, he was not on the muscle and schooled like an old pro.

If what we're seeing from this horse is what we're going to see in the Belmont Stakes, it wouldn't surprise us a bit to see him win off by himself.

The biggest recommendation for Empire Maker, other than the fact that was not a fit horse for the Derby and has already handled Funny Cide, is that he is coming into this race so much better than he did in the Derby. He's dead-fit, and his last two gallops have been super. No one has galloped stronger than Empire Maker did on Thursday when he rolled around the sloppy oval, reaching out with great extension. That was by far the strongest we've ever seen this horse. He also will move up on an off track.

Will we see the Empire Maker tomorrow that we all thought we were going to see on Derby Day? If we do, then Funny Cide will have the biggest battle of his life on his hands. Even bigger than when Empire Maker beat him with something left in the tank in the Wood Memorial. It sounds like we're being wishy-washy, but this race is so confusing that an impressive win by Empire Maker surely wouldn't surprise us either.

As we said, neither horse is going to pay for your kid's tuition, so just sit back and enjoy them. But if you do want to try to beat them, you could do a lot worse than Dynever and Ten Most Wanted.

Dynever is the big question mark in here, but despite his low speed figures, he could be a superstar in the making, and it's worth a few bucks to find out. Every morning, he has walked around the paddock, through the tunnel, and out onto the track, where he would stand for quite a while. It is when he is standing that you really get to appreciate him. You can't take your eyes off him. And the reason can be explained in one word: class. This horse exudes so much class, to steal Trevor Denman's line, one can't help but think he is something special. A beautiful dark bay, he is one of the most alert horses we've seen, and he holds himself like a champion. Maybe he's not ready for this. But just maybe he is, and is ready to burst onto the scene. One thing is for sure, he will not get rattled by the big crowd, or the noise, or anything for that matter.

When this horse broke his maiden at Gulfstream back in early March, we wrote in the March 11 Derby Watch, "For down the road, keep an eye on DYNEVER, who was brilliant breaking his maiden at Gulfstream in his second career start. With his pedigree, anyone taking future bets on the Belmont Stakes?"

There is no way we can't bet this horse to win, now that he's here and riding a three-race winning streak. So, all sentiment aside, our selection from a bettor's viewpoint is Dynever.

If we're going to risk our hard-earned money and bet against Funny Cide and Empire Maker, we're not going to stop there. We also have to put something on Ten Most Wanted, who was the wiseguy horse in the Derby, had a legitimate excuse, and now is flying into Belmont way under the radar. Just like Atswhatimtalknbout was forgotten after the Santa Anita Derby and bounced back to run a sensational race at Churchill Downs, so to has Ten Most Wanted been forgotten. And he too can bounce back and run a sensational race, if he's good enough, of course.

Physically, he looks spectacular. He is a big, imposing, powerful horse, and is packing a lot of muscle. And his coat looks sensational. He can get antsy in the gate, as he did in the Derby, but schooled like a perfect gentleman this morning, going in and backing out twice, while not turning a hair. Is he good enough to beat the big two? Is his impressive Illinois Derby victory an indication of what is to come? Who knows? He hasn't proven he can, but that's why you're going to get a pretty good price on him.

Scrimshaw has D. Wayne Lukas going for him, and Supervisor is the kind of horse who can pick up a piece of it if the others falter.

This is a race for watching and savoring, without the betting angle spoiling the purity of the event. But, let's face it, racing is a bettor's game, and plenty of money will pour through the mutuel machines. Dynever will be our main win bet, with Ten Most Wanted getting the rest. If both lose, and Funny Cide and Empire Maker hook up and battle to the wire by themselves, we will gladly tear up our tickets. History and precious memories last a lot longer than money.

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