posted June 4, 2008 at 14:40 EST in Triple Crown Betting Trends

You will rarely see me write that a horse going off at 40 to 1 off track betting odds in the BetUS online racebook future book is an underlay.

It makes sense that almost every horse in whatever race, whether it be a $25,000 claimer or the Grade I Belmont Stakes, has a chance to upset based on the incredible horse betting odds of 40 to 1. Unless there are 40 horses in the race, you have to figure that the chances of something happening to the Belmont betting favorites - - throwing their jockey’s, falling to their knees ala War Emblem in 2002 - - requires us as online racebook fans to pay attention to horses going off at 40 to 1 horse racing odds. This is even true if the favorite in question is Big Brown.

But Anak Nakal, currently at those 40 to 1 horse race betting odds in the Belmont Stakes, has no real chance to win the race. Why? He’s just not a very good horse. His father, the brilliant Victory Gallop, one of my favorite racehorses of all time, never turned into the type of sire that could produce graded winners. Although Victory Gallop was as gutsy as any horse I’ve ever seen on the racetrack, his progeny have left something to be desired.

In fact, Winstar Farms, who owned his breeding rights up until this year, sold Victory Gallop to a farm in Turkey. That’s right. Not Japan or Hong Kong or Australia or Great Britain - - Turkey.

I didn’t even know they raced horses in Turkey. I hope he’s alright out there. The former winner of the Belmont Stakes probably deserves something better then running for the Turks. Hey, maybe they treat the horses well out there, right?

In any case the fact that Winstar Farms decided to sell Victory Gallop means that they probably gave up on him as a sire. Does the old guy have one more big surprise in him in Anak Nakal?

Probably not. Anak Nakal just isn’t a very good racehorse. I’m perplexed as to why trainer Nick Zito, who pulled a brilliant upset in the 2004 Belmont Stakes with Birdstone, would want to even put Anak Nakal into this race. He really doesn’t appear to have the ability to even sniff a top four placing.

Zito would have to pull a miracle upset to get Anak Nakal to run a step in this one. The horse lost by 15 ¼ lengths to Big Brown in the Kentucky Derby. He lost by 3 ½ lengths to Tale of Ekati in the Wood Memorial. That’s not even the worst of it.

Anak Nakal lost by 12 ½ lengths to a horse named Sierra Sunset in the Grade II Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in March.

Yes, I’ve been harping on the fact that a lot of 3-year olds start to really blossom at this time of the year, but Anak Nakal does not appear to be one of those 3 year olds that could blossom.

He doesn’t have the breeding lines to make a splash in the 2008 Belmont Stakes betting action event of the year.

Because of that, even at the BetUS online future book horse racing betting odds of 40 to 1, Anak Nakal is a decided underlay.

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