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California Chrome is the 3-5 morning line favorite to become the 12th Triple Crown winner in racing history. However, the last seven odds-on Belmont Stakes favorites have failed to win and complete the magnificent feat. You can watch the Belmont Stakes on TSN this Saturday, with coverage beginning at 2:30pm et/11:30am pt. One has to go all the way back to 1978 when Affirmed held off Alydar at 3-5 to find the last odds-on betting choice to grab hold of the final leg of horse racings Triple Crown. In fact, Affirmed was the fourth straight odds-on winner following the footsteps of Seattle Slew (2-5), Bold Forbes (4-5) and Secretariat (1-9). Between the years 1958 and 1971, only one of eight odds-on betting favorites in the Belmont came home on top - Damascus (4-5) in 1967. Finally, half of the first 14 odds-on choices crossed the wire first. Overall, this type of favorite holds just 12 victories in 33 overall starts. It must be mentioned that there were two odds-on choices in 1957. Gallant Man (19-20) crossed the wire first while Bold Ruler (17-20) finished third. The bottom line is there have been only 12 winners out of 32 races since mutuels began in New York in 1940. Thats a 37.5 percent winning percentage. Moreover, of the 19 horses in line for the Triple Crown sweep, just six came home victorious. That amounts to a 33 percent winning percentage. Five of the Kentucky Derby-Preakness winners ran second in the Belmont Stakes with Real Quiet (4-5 in 1998) coming the closest, losing by a nose to Victory Gallop. The four others were Pensive (1-2 in 1944), Tim Tam (3-20 in 1958), Sunday Silence (4-5 in 1989) and Smarty Jones (2-5 in 2004). Three more finished third - Northern Dancer (4-5 in 1964), Spectacular Bid (1-5 in 1979) and Pleasant Colony (4-5 in 1981). Five finished off the board, including Big Brown (2008) - the last horse vying for the Triple Crown that ran in the Belmont (Ill Have Another in 2012 was injured and did not race in the final leg). There also is another key factor that plays against California Chrome and that is field size. The six Triple Crown winners between 1941 and 1978 won the Belmont Stakes against a combined 27 other horses, which amounts to an average of 3.5 horses per race. The 13 horses that failed to win the Triple Crown had 110 challengers, which means those colts ran against an average of 8.5 horses per race. This year, the Belmont Stakes has a field of 11, which ties for the second- most entrants behind the 1971 edition when Canonero II finished fourth at 3-5. The 1966, 1981 and 1998 renewals also had 10 other horses competing against odds-on Derby-Preakness winners Kauai King, Pleasant Colony and Real Quiet, respectively. All three of those horses lost the Belmont Stakes. California Chrome is by far the most talented member of this 3-year-old crop. He owns tremendous tactical speed, which should place him on or just off the early lead. Only Samraat and Tonalist, and to a less extent, General a Rod, have decent gate speed, so jockey Victor Espinoza will not have much of a crowd in front of him. We will see if the colt is good enough to overcome what so many have failed to accomplish over the last 36 years. THE PRETENDERS There are two horses that have no business being in the race - Matterhorn and Matuszak. The former has not won since last November while the latter hasnt won since September. Three other colts have better bodies of work than that pair but should still finish off the board. They are General a Rod, Commissioner and Samraat. General a Rod has the pedigree to be successful at the 1 1/2-mile distance, but he sure does not run like it. It is true he had a terrible trip in the Preakness, but dont look for any improvement from a horse that might not have been entered in the Belmont if his stablemate, Intense Holiday, did not come down with an injury. Commissioner showed more speed in the Peter Pan than he ever had before, but that may have occurred due to the sloppy Belmont surface that day. An argument could be made that a horse not expected to vie for the early lead could jump up and do so and this colt might be the one. Either on the pace or off, dont expect the Todd Pletcher-trained 3-year-old to be around when the true running begins. Samraat ran a very good fifth in the Kentucky Derby - his second straight loss after opening with five wins in his first five outings. His breeding does not suggest he will appreciate the added distance, so it is best to side with others. INTRIGUING POSSIBILITIES Commanding Curve comes into the Belmont Stakes off a second-place finish to California Chrome in the Kentucky Derby. He is one of four horses in the field to have run in the Derby and pass the Preakness. Commanding Curve also had the easiest of trips in the first leg of the Triple Crown, unlike a few others entered in the Belmont. The son of Master Command has been training well and certainly is a horse to use in the exotics. However, he is doubtful to cross the wire first. Ride On Curlin represents the closest finisher to California Chrome considering the latter has strung together six consecutive victories. Nevertheless, the Belmont Stakes will be Ride On Curlins fourth race in the last eight weeks and that might be too much, especially on the heels of a 1 1/2-mile event. THE FINAL FOUR Filling out the final spot in the superfecta will be Tonalist. The Peter Pan winner has done nothing wrong as a 3-year-old, winning two of three starts with a second to Florida Derby winner Constitution in his only other race - an allowance event on a speed-favoring Gulfstream Park track. Three main reasons why he wont hit the board are: 1. his lack of experience (four career races), 2. he will be on the pace and will use too much energy trying to square off with California Chrome, and 3. breaking from the No. 11 post position will make for a longer trip into the first turn. Medal Count ran a very good eighth in the Kentucky Derby considering Danza cut him off approaching the eighth-pole. His momentum was completely stopped and he still finished less than two lengths from finishing fourth. The Dale Romans-trained son of Dynaformer not only should love the 12 furlongs, but he also has been working well at Churchill Downs. Finally, he has had five weeks off after racing three times in a month. That leaves California Chrome and Wicked Strong as the two most probable winners. Not surprisingly, they are the top two choices on the morning line. Wicked Strong has been working out on the Belmont training track, but he is one of only three horses in the field with a win over the main track (Samraat and Tonalist are the other two). The fourth-place Derby finisher broke poorly from the far outside post position on the first Saturday in May and was caught very wide going into the first turn. He eventually closed from 14th to a fourth-place finish at the wire. A better trip is expected on Saturday. Its been 36 years since Affirmed last won the last Triple Crown. Among the horses that have failed have been speed types (Smarty Jones, War Emblem and Sunday Silence), stalkers (Big Brown, Funny Cide, Silver Charm and Spectacular Bid), middle movers (Real Quiet and Charismatic) and closers (Pleasant Colony and Alysheba). California Chrome falls into the first category. If the pace is slow, he might be on the lead. If not, look for him to sit a couple lengths off, as he did in the first two Triple Crown races. A victory on Saturday will put to rest all the talk of having to alter either the distances or the span of time in between the three races. A loss and the discussions will ignite once again. Will he win? That is the million dollar question. Is he a good bet to cross the wire first at odds-on? History says no. THE BELMONT WAGER This will be a winning season regardless of what happens since the $50 wager on the California Chrome-Ride On Curlin exacta came through for a cool $455 return. With a mythical $100 Belmont Stakes wager, bet $35 on a Wicked Strong- California Chrome exacta and $30 the other way. In addition, bet $15 on a California Chrome-Medal Count exacta and $10 the other way. And just in case the favorite fails to fire, use Wicked Strong and Medal Count in a $5 exacta box. Bill Mazeroski Jersey . Bostons bats exploded in Mondays opener, as David Ortiz belted a pair of two-run homers, Stephen Drew homered and drove in four runs and the Red Sox pummeled the Blue Jays, 14-1. 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Hes also played in 13 games for the Canadian national team.London, England - Top seed Novak Djokovic needed all five sets to win his quarterfinal match, while seven-time champion Roger Federer advanced in four and defending titlist Andy Murray was sent packing by rising Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov in straights Wednesday at Wimbledon. The former champion and 2013 runner-up Djokovic trailed two-sets-to-one against 26th-seeded Croat Marin Cilic before turning things around for a 6-1, 3-6, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-2 decision on the No. 1 Court. The French Open runner-up Djokovic will meet Dimitrov in Fridays semifinals at the All England Club. It will mark the Serbian stars sixth final-four appearance at Wimbledon, where he titled in 2011 and lost to Murray in last years finale. Djokovic snuck past Cilic in 3 hours, 38 minutes with the help seven service breaks and six double faults by his Croatian counterpart. The Serb moved on despite striking 10 fewer winners (42-32) than Cilic, who had 16 more unforced errors (48-32) on Day 9. The 6-foot-6 Cilic played in his fourth career major quarterfinal (1-3) and his first one since the 2012 U.S. Open. The 27-year-old Djokovic is a six-time Grand Slam champion who has appeared in 11 of the last 15 major finals. He would replace Rafael Nadal atop the mens rankings with a title this weekend. Meanwhile, the 11th-seeded Dimitrov leveled the third-seeded Murray 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 and the fourth-seeded former No. 1 great Federer overcame Australian Open champ and fifth-seeded fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4 on the famed Centre Court. Dimitrovs serve was just too tough to deal with on Day 9, as the Bulgarian popped 10 aces and was broken only once en route to a convincing victory over Murray. The gifted star used plenty of variety, with topspin, volleys and a beautiful one-handed backhand to advance. The 27-year-old two-time Grand Slam winner Murray succumbed in 1 hour, 40 minutes by tallying five double faults and striking 19 more unforced errors (37-18) than his Bulgarian counterpart. Murray had won his last 17 matches at the All Enngland Club, as he captured an Olympic gold medal here in 2012 and gave Britain its first male Wimbledon singles champion in 77 years last year.dddddddddddd He was also a Wimbledon runner-up in 2012. The 23-year-old Dimitrov, once nicknamed "Baby Fed," will now appear in his first-ever Grand Slam semifinal. He was a quarterfinalist at this years Aussie Open. "Im excited and happy I went through in straight sets," Dimitrov told BBC television. "Its never easy to play Andy, especially in front of his home crowd. I was pretty fortunate today. "As soon as we started warming up, I sensed his game wasnt at his highest level and I was pretty confident and playing good tennis. The first set helped me get into a good rhythm. The second set tiebreak was a key moment for me. Coming into the third set, I knew I had a lot of things under control. "I was pretty steady during the whole match and came out the winner. I have two more matches to play hopefully. Im trying to stay on course and prepare for the next one." Dimitrov captured his first-ever grass-court title at Londons Queens Club three weeks ago and is an unblemished 9-0 on grass this year. Federer, meanwhile, improved to 14-2 lifetime against his good friend Wawrinka after dropping the first set on Wednesday. The mighty Federer righted the ship by winning the second-set tiebreak and would assume control from there. The Swiss icon moved on in 2 hours, 33 minutes with 10 aces and two breaks against Wawrinka, who settled for only one break against the all-time great. Wawrinka was playing in his first-ever Wimbledon quarterfinal and slowed by some physical issues over the last three sets. The 17-time Grand Slam king Federer is now 72-8 at Wimbledon, which includes a 2008 runner-up finish in addition to his seven championships. Hell now appear in his ninth Wimbledon semifinal and 35th career major semi. The 32-year-old Federer now awaits a young gun in either Canadian Milos Raonic or Aussie Nick Kyrgios, who stunned Nadal on Tuesday. ' ' '