On Saturday, the horse-racing public will be clinging close to their TVs and jamming the Las Vegas sport books as American Pharoah guns for the Triple Crown of racing in the Belmont Stakes.
The winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness will face his most grueling test to day — 1.5 miles of dirt track.
But the public apparently likes the horse’s chances to complete the first Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978. One Las Vegas sports book this week posted the chances of American Pharoah completing the Triple Crown at -125. The “no” on that bet was +105.
There is a reason no horse has completed the Triple Crown sweep in the last 37 years. Several reasons, actually. There will be fresh opposition. The dirt track is 1.5 miles. And it’s a horse race with uncountable variables.
While we we can’t help but root for American Pharoah to complete the Triple Crown, there’s some obvious value at +105.
Betting against something that hasn’t happened since 1978 has some logic behind it.
