Kentucky Derby winner Orb was made the 3-1 favourite over Revolutionary and Preakness champion Oxbow on Wednesday as the draw was made for Saturday's 145th running of the Belmont Stakes.

The 1 1/2-mile (2400m) showdown of three-year-olds is the final leg in American flat racing's Triple Crown, which has not been swept by the same horse since Affirmed in 1978. Orb's bid was thwarted with a loss in last month's Preakness.

In a field of 14, Orb will start from position five while Revolutionary, the second choice among oddsmakers at 9-2 after a third-place Derby run, leaves from the ninth post and Oxbow, 5-1, leaves from the seventh gate.

"I just didn't want to get down on the inside where maybe we might get stuck around the first turn, like we sort of did in the Preakness," said Orb's trainer Shug McGaughey.

"I said middle, and that's pretty much the middle.

"There's going to be a bit of a pace, so he'll be able to kind of drop out of it and dictate what he wants to do. I just hope he has some place to go when the time comes."

It will be the 21st time that the Derby and Preakness winners meet in the Belmont. Derby winners have taken five such meetings with Preakness champions winning nine times and rivals taking the rest.

"With that long run and the sweeping turns we have a tendency to overanalyze the post position draw," Oxbow's trainer D. Wayne Lukas said.

"I'm more concerned about who is around me and what they're going to do than what gate we got."

Revolutionary's trainer Todd Pletcher was happy to be outside Oxbow at the start and said the longest Triple Crown distance will suit his horse well.

"I think he will settle in the first part of the race," Pletcher said. "That's important if you're going to get the mile and a half."

The remainder of the field in starting order from the rail with odds includes Frac Daddy at 30-1, Freedom Child at 8-1, Overanalyze at 12-1, Giant Finish at 30-1, Incognito at 20-1, Midnight Taboo at 30-1, Will Take Charge at 20-1, Vyjack at 20-1, Palace Malice at 15-1, Unlimited Budget at 8-1 and Golden Soul at 10-1.