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The 158th running of the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, will be run on Saturday.
But like the Preakness Stakes, it won’t be run on its usual course. The race known as “The Test of the Champion” will be run at Saratoga Race Course for the third consecutive year as Belmont Park began undergoing major renovations in 2024.
Because the race is run on an alternate track, it has a shortened distance of 1 1/4 miles compared to the usual 1 1/2-mile distance at Belmont Park.
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Sovereignty, ridden by Junior Alvarado, leads the first turn in the 157th Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, NY on June 7, 2025. Sovereignty won the race. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Back for the Belmont Stakes is Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo. Golden Tempo did not run in the Preakness Stakes.
Napoleon Solo won the Preakness Stakes but will not run in the Belmont Stakes. None of the horses that ran in the Preakness Stakes will run in the Belmont Stakes, meaning that no horse will have competed in all three legs of the Triple Crown.
Nine horses will compete for the $2 million purse.
Who is driving and what are the odds?
- Vitruvian Man (Antonio Fresu) 17-1
- Powershift (Luis Saez) 11-1
- Chief Wallabee (Junior Alvarado) 6-1
- Renegade (Irad Ortiz Jr.) 2-1
- Ottinho (Dylan Davis) 19-1
- Growth Equity (Manuel Franco) 11-1
- Bud (John Velazquez) 5-1
- Emerging Market (Flavien Prat) 5-1
- Golden Pace (José Ortiz) 9-2
CHERIE DEVAUX REFLECTS ON MAKING KENTUCKY DERBY HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TRAINER TO WIN THE RACE
A horse is washed before a workout ahead of the 158th Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, NY on June 5, 2026. (Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo)
Who are the favourites?
Renegade, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby and is trained by Todd Pletcher, has the best odds at 2-1.
Emerging Market, trained by Chad Brown, and Commandment, trained by Brad Cox, are both 5-1.
Golden Tempo, who won the Kentucky Derby and is trained by Cherie DeVaux, is 9-2. The Bill Mott-coached Chief Wallabee are 6-1.
What’s everyone talking about ahead of the Belmont Stakes?
Golden Tempo is coming off a five-week break after winning the “Run for the Roses”. This is the second year in a row that the winner of the Kentucky Derby skipped the Preakness but ran in the Belmont Stakes, as Sovereignty did last year. Sovereignty ended up winning last year’s Belmont Stakes.
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Cherie DeVaux, trainer of Golden Tempo, celebrates with the trophy in the winner’s circle after the 152nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky on May 2, 2026. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Golden Tempo arrived at Saratoga last weekend. If Golden Tempo follows in the Sovereign’s footsteps — or hooves in this case — DeVaux will become the first female trainer to win multiple legs of the Triple Crown in the same year.
Jena Antonucci made history in 2023 when she became the first female trainer to win the Belmont Stakes and became the first female trainer to win a leg of the Triple Crown.
Five horses that ran in the Kentucky Derby will run in the Belmont Stakes: Golden Tempo (winner), Chief Wallabee (fourth), Renegade (second), Commandment (seventh) and Emerging Market (10th).
There is a chance of rain in the forecast for Saturday afternoon in Saratoga.
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Golden Tempo, ridden by Jose L. Ortiz, wins the 152nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
How do you see?
- Where: Saratoga Springs, New York
- When: June 6, 2026
- Expected post time: 7:04 PM ET
- TV: FOX and FS1; streaming on FOX One
- Purse: $2 million
