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Nehro May Finally Get Over His Seconditis in 2011 Belmont Stakes When the posts and odds for tomorrow's running of the Belmont Stakes were announced earlier this week, there was one noteworthy surprise While there's no point arguing that Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom deserves to be a 2-1 favorite, the horse that earned second favorite honors definitely had people turning their heads. That was Nehro, whose 4-1 odds of winning Saturday's race slightly edge Preakness Stakes winner Shackleford's 9-2 odds. As many people have already pointed out, Nehro is without a doubt one of the best horses in the field, but he does seem to be suffering from a bad case of seconditis. He's been the runner-up in each of his last three races, the most recent of which was his second-place finish at the Kentucky Derby. He was then held out of the Preakness Stakes. However, that last part is what has some people intrigued. If nothing else, taking the Preakness off means Nehro is well-rested, and at least one Las Vegas betting honcho thinks that makes him a worthy bet. MUST READ: One Fact About Each Belmont Stakes Horse
"[Nehro] got a freshener and has had more time off than the others," said John Avello, the race and sports director at the Wynn, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "It's tough on a 3-year-old to run three grueling races in five weeks." As Bob Fortus of The Times-Picayune tells the story, choosing not to run at Pimlico can only help Nehro. In the last five runnings of the Belmont Stakes, none of the winners also won the Preakness Stakes. In fact, the last Belmont winner who competed in all three Triple Crown races was Afleet Alex in 2005. "What usually happens in the Belmont is the fresh horses are dangerous," said Bryan Blessing, a TV analyst for donbest.com. "Nehro is interesting. His workout was nothing to write home about, but that's the workout. It's all about race day." The reason fresh horses have the advantage in the Belmont Stakes is because it's a 1.5-mile race, a quarter-mile longer than the Kentucky Derby. If all goes well, Nehro will be able to stick around near the front of the pack, and then have enough energy to make a late charge. It will be difficult to beat Animal Kingdom and Shackleford. But if there's one horse that can do the honors, maybe it's Nehro.
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