That's unfortunately not the case this year, but we at least get the next best thing – a showdown race between the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the winner of the Preakness Stakes.

Animal Kingdom raced to the win in the Kentucky Derby last month, with Nehro finishing in second place, and Mucho Macho Man ending up in third place. Shackleford had to settle for fourth place at Churchill Downs.

Shackleford, though, would get his revenge next time out in the Preakness Stakes, holding off the hard-charging Animal Kingdom to win that race.

So now we have Animal Kingdom vs. Shackleford on Saturday at the Belmont Stakes, with the Kentucky Derby winner sitting as the -175 favorite on the Bodog matchup odds against the Preakness champ (+145).

On the main Bodog odds board, Animal Kingdom is again the favorite at 5/2, with Nehro  (7/2) squeezing just ahead of Shackleford (5/1) on that list. Nehro's owners decided to rest him instead of racing him in the Preakness last month.

Rounding out the top contenders for the Belmont are Master of Hounds at 6/1 and Mucho Macho Man at 15/2. Master of Hounds finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby and also skipped the Preakness. Mucho Macho Man, third at Churchill Downs, was sixth at Pimlico.

Brilliant Speed and Santiva both sit at 14/1 odds for the weekend; Santiva was sixth at the Kentucky Derby, and Brilliant Speed was seventh. The odds for the rest of the entrants: Prime Cut (20/1), Stay Thirsty (20/1), Monzon (30/1), Isn't He Perfect (40/1), and Ruler On Ice (40/1).

Get all your horse racing odds at Bodog.