Belmont Stakes 2026: What to know about the final leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown

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The 158th running of the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, will be run on Saturday.

However, like the Preakness Stakes, it will not be run at its usual track. The race known as “The Test of the Champion” will be run at Saratoga Race Course for the third straight year, as Belmont Park began undergoing major renovations in 2024.

Because the race is being run at an alternate course, it has a shortened distance of 1 1/4 miles, compared with the usual 1 1/2-mile distance at Belmont Park.

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Sovereignty with jockey Junior Alvarado racing at Saratoga Race Course.

Returning to the Belmont Stakes is Golden Tempo, who won the Kentucky Derby. Golden Tempo did not run in the Preakness Stakes.

Napoleon Solo won the Preakness Stakes but will not be running in the Belmont Stakes. None of the horses that raced in the Preakness Stakes will race in the Belmont Stakes, meaning no horse will have competed in all three legs of the Triple Crown.

Nine horses will compete for the $2 million purse.

Who is racing and what are the betting 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
Commandment (John Velazquez) 5-1
Emerging Market (Flavien Prat) 5-1
Golden Tempo (José Ortiz) 9-2

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A horse being washed before workout at Saratoga Race Course

Who are the favorites?

Renegade, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby and is trained by Todd Pletcher, has the best odds at 2-1.

Emerging Market, who is trained by Chad Brown, and Commandment, who is trained by Brad Cox, are both at 5-1.

Golden Tempo, who won the Kentucky Derby and is trained by Cherie DeVaux, is at 9-2. Chief Wallabee, who is trained by Bill Mott, is at 6-1.

What everyone’s talking about ahead of the Belmont Stakes?

Golden Tempo is coming off a five-week break after winning the “Run for the Roses”. It is the second straight year that the Kentucky Derby winner 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 holding trophy in winner's circle at Churchill Downs

Golden Tempo arrived in Saratoga last weekend. If Golden Tempo follows in Sovereignty’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, becoming 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 place), 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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