In less than two weeks time, the 2011 Belmont Stakes betting lines will close as the 12 horse field enters the gate. This year marks the first in nearly six years that Belmont betting enthusiasts will be able to watch as many as five horses from the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes part take in the third and final stage of the American Triple Crown. Today we will be looking at a few horses that average bettors will want to keep an eye on.

The five horses that have received the most betting action over the last 10 days, include, Animal Kingdom, Shackleford, Nehro, Mucho Macho Man, and Santiva. Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and runner up Nehro along with Preakness Stakes winner Shackleford opened last week’s lines as co-favorites to win the Belmont Stakes at four to one odds. Meanwhile, despite finishing with disappointing results in the first two races of the Triple Crown, both Mucho Macho Man and Santiva are America’s dark horse’s at six to one and 12 to one to upset the favorites in the Belmont Stakes.

Given that the Belmont Stakes is one of the most grueling races of all time, bettors should focus on the distance horses as opposed to the speed ones. With that in mind, expect Animal Kingdom and Nehro to each receive a ton of betting action, as both horses love coming from behind and making their moves at the final stretch to steal the victory away from the speed horses. Animal Kingdom especially is a horse that breeders cup betting fans will be focusing on, as it came within a length of winning the Preakness Stakes and subsequently being able to take a run at the Triple Crown. On the other hand Nehro hasn’t run a race since the Kentucky Derby, but appears to have had some exceptional training runs which could indicate good things come post time.