It's time to fess up. Seattle Slew did not make me a believer until it was too late but this mistake will not be repeated as Big Brown is the key to making money in this year's Belmont.

The trick will be to find some value underneath him in the vertical exotics and try to get the bomb home.

Before we get to a betting strategy, let's take a look at his foes as they line up from A to Z. Anak Nakal has the right connections as his trainer Nick Zito upset Smarty a few seasons ago with Birdstone. The runner broke his maiden at Belmont and that can't hurt either.

Anak has not really run fast, his top Beyer are the back-to-back 87s he just posted in the Wood and Derby but similar to Birdstone, this guy was not disgraced in the Derby, he ran 7th, and has an outside look at a shocker.

Casino Drive will be the second choice in the field and as everybody that is not with Osama in some cave at this point knows that he is a kin to the last 2 Belmont Stakes winners Rags to Riches and Jazil.

With only 2 career races, he is obviously on the treadmill going uphill, but don't forget, Big Brown is relatively inexperienced too.

There is a question of whom he beat in Japan. Both of the exacta players were also making their first starts and have not run back.

Da' Tara may have rabbit duties this weekend. The other Nick Zito charge, his top runner is Anal Nakal, this guy is still eligible for a entry level allowance race but his lone win came wire to wire and was just beaten a half in a $100K race when just failing to hold the lead.

Denis of Cork could be just what astute horseplayers are looking for. He took an unbeaten record into the Hawthorne Derby then threw in a total clinker. He was lucky to get into the Derby but had a horrible trip, had to come from dead last, and was still only beaten just over 8 lengths.

Guadalcanal is shooting for the moon as a maiden but he has a shot to get a slice as the only horse in the field with experience at the trip, he was beaten a nose in a turf marathon a couple of weeks ago and his trainer, Fred Seitz, won a stakes at Saratoga with a maiden a couple of years ago.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow fans have a vehicle in Icabad Crane, who will be ridden by Afleet Alex's pilot Jeremy Rose. He has never run a bad race, was troubled in Baltimore, and seems to be tough. Horse bettors can check out what his trainer, Graham Motion, had to say in the Bloodhorse, Motion: "One of the reasons I don't mind running him in (the Belmont) is because he's got such a great disposition -- he's a really kind horse, a lovely horse to be around. And he's really tough. (In the Tesio), he had a rough trip, and he just seems to overcome whatever happens. He didn't have a great trip in the Preakness either...I think the pair of he and Jeremy are both pretty tough."

Macho Again will again go toe to toe with the king of the hill but he regressed a bit in the Preakness going from a 99 Beyer in the Derby Trial to a 92 in Baltimore.

He's never won in New York but he has a right to get the distance as his dam is by BC Classic inaugural winner Wild Again.

Ready's Echo will try to make some noise but he's still eligible for a N1X fray, was crushed by Casino Drive and will need a lot of luck to make an impact.

Tale of Ekati, trained by Funny Cide's guy Barclay Tagg, took kind of a phony Wood when he nailed War Pass, who had some distance limitations anyway. His best asset could be the blood that says he'll adore the expanded distance

The bet: Key Big Brown, his B plus game will be enough to win, in the superfecta with Macho Again, Denis of Cork, Anak Nakal, Tale of Ekati, Casino Drive and Guadalcanal if you can spread that far.