New York ? Big Brown is No. 1 again before he even stampedes out of the gate at the Belmont Stakes.

Big Brown will take his shot at Triple Crown history from the inside, drawing the No. 1 post for Saturday’s race. The post could be a lucky one for an undefeated colt that really doesn’t need any extra edge: It’s produced the most Belmont winners (23) since 1905. Big Brown was installed as the early 2-5 favorite against nine rivals Wednesday for the grueling 11â2-mile race.

Big Brown is 5-0, winning by a combined 39 lengths. A Belmont victory would make him the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed completed the sweep 30 years ago.

His main challenger, Japanese-bred Casino Drive, will start from the No. 5 post. He is the 7-2 second choice.

The field, from the rail out: Big Brown (Kent Desormeaux, 2-5); Guadalcanal (Javier Castellano, 50-1); Macho Again (Garrett Gomez, 20-1); Denis of Cork (Robby Albarado, 12-1); Casino Drive (Edgar Prado, 7-2); Da’Tara (Alan Garcia, 30-1); Tale of Ekati (Eibar Coa, 20-1); Anak Nakal (Julien Leparoux, 30-1); Ready’s Echo (John Velazquez, 30-1); and Icabad Crane (Jeremy Rose, 20-1).