American Pharoah Big Favorite, but Science Is Skeptical

The latest odds ahead of today's Belmont Stakes have American Pharoah as the favorite to win and thus claim the Triple Crown. He's at 1-2, with the next best odds belonging to Frosted at 5-1 and Materiality at 7-1, reports the Courier-Journal. If Pharoah does win, the horse could be worth $100 million in future years because of stud fees, notes Fortune. Owner Zayat Stables sold the breeding rights last month for a figure estimated to be "north of $20 million," reports CNN, but that could prove to be a bargain for the Coolmore Ashford Stud farm with a victory today.

An analysis at Wired says not to start counting the money yet, however. There's a reason Triple Crown winners are so rare, writes Lexi Pandell: "There are two weeks between the Derby and the Preakness, and three weeks between the Preakness and the Belmont. That tight schedule—and the super-specific needs of racehorses—means horses competing in the grueling back-to-back-to-back Triple Crown races have a big disadvantage against fresh horses." On that note, the 5-1 Frosted sat out the Preakness and should be fresh indeed. The race is at 6:50 Eastern. (Click to read why the favorite's name is misspelled.)