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Overtook, France Go De Ina and Bourbonic - Assessing the Belmont Stakes underdogs

Overtook, France Go De Ina and Bourbonic are among the outsiders for the Belmont Stakes on June 5, while Midnight Bourbon will not feature and a decision has still yet to be made on Brooklyn Strong.

The field for the June 5 Belmont Stakes is not yet finalised, but many betting outlets tend to agree on which horses will run in the third jewel of the Triple Crown horse racing series and have established futures odds for the race.

The latest horse to be removed from consideration is Midnight Bourbon, who finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby but rebounded as the runner-up to Rombauer in the Preakness Stakes. Meanwhile, Brooklyn Strong's trainer is still undecided on whether to enter the 15th place finisher in the Kentucky Derby.

Still expected to run in the mile-and-a-half contest are Rombauer, Kentucky Derby favourite Essential Quality, Louisiana Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie and Santa Anita Derby victor Rock Your World.

Medina Spirit, the Kentucky Derby champion whose victory is still in question due to a positive test for illegal levels of the anti-inflammatory betamethasone, wasn't scheduled to run in the Belmont but is now officially prohibited from entering due to trainer Bob Baffert's suspension by the New York Racing Association (NYRA).

Under the terms of the NYRA suspension, Baffert cannot enter any horses in races or occupy stable space at Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga for an indefinite period of time. Medina Spirit's second test for betamethasone has not been conducted and it's been reported that his connections are still in possession of the split sample, which will delay the resolution of the matter.
The official draw for starting positions will take place on June 1, and the establishment of morning line odds will quickly follow. US-based sportsbooks will wait until that time to take wagers, but here is a look at the longer shots identified by UK bookmakers.

Belmont Stakes betting underdogs

Overtook (33/1): After breaking his maiden in his third try on December 20 at Aqueduct, Overtook was runner-up in the 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying Withers Stakes but didn't race again until a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont on May 8. Although he's competed well in his pair of stakes races, Overtook will be taking a big step up in class in the Belmont Stakes, but with all of the horses running at the longer distance, it's hard to rule out any entry from making a strong run.

France Go De Ina (33/1): In his first US start, the Japanese-trained horse finished seventh in the Preakness Stakes following a sixth-place finish in the 100-40-20-10 UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on March 27. His connections are hoping that after acclimatising to his new surroundings, France Go De Ina can give a better performance in the Belmont Stakes.

Bourbonic (28/1): The 72/1 longshot winner of the Wood Memorial in his first stakes race finished 13th in the Kentucky Derby after getting caught up in traffic from his far outside starting position.

Bourbonic was able to make a steady move forward at Churchill Downs, indicating the Todd Pletcher-trained colt may have the staying power necessary to be in the mix late over the additional quarter-mile of the Belmont Stakes.

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