The $2 million Belmont Stakes (G2) is ready to go for a third and final time at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York on Saturday night.
$1,000 CASH BONUS
Boost Your First Deposit
JOIN NOW
$1,000 CASH BONUS
Boost Your First Deposit
JOIN NOW
While there’s no Triple Crown on the line, intriguing storylines abound beginning with a rematch between Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Golden Tempo and runner-up Renegade.
Add the matchup of jockey Jose Ortiz (Golden Tempo) against older brother Irad (Renegade) puts a little more pizzazz into the race.
The 158th Belmont Stakes (post time 7:04 p.m. ET, Fox Sports) will be contested at 1 ¼ miles again as the track configuration at Saratoga is different than Belmont Park, the home of the Belmont that has traditionally been run at 1 ½ miles. When the Belmont returns a newly-rebuilt Belmont Park, the race will be run at 1 ½ miles.
Renegade. Coady Media.A field of nine 3-year-olds are entered, with Renegade the early favorite over Golden Tempo and several other Derby runners, including Chief Wallabee (fourth), Commandment (seventh) and Emerging Market (10th).
2026 Belmont Stakes Odds Official post positions set following the post-position draw on Monday, June 1, 2026. PP Horse / Trainer Morning Line 1 Vitruvian ManAntonio Fresu · D. O’Neill 30/1 2 PowershiftLuis Saez · T. Pletcher 12/1 3 Chief WallabeeJunior Alvarado · W. Mott 3/1 4 RenegadeIrad Ortiz Jr. · T. Pletcher 2/1 5 OttinhoDylan Davis · C. Brown 20/1 6 Growth EquityManny Franco · C. Brown 12/1 7 CommandmentJohn Velazquez · B. Cox 6/1 8 Emerging MarketFlavien Prat · C. Brown 6/1 9 Golden TempoJose Ortiz · C. DeVaux 9/2Last Updated on 06/01/2026
Golden Tempo, the 23-1 longshot Derby winner that made Cherie DeVaux the first female trainer to win the Run for the Roses, bypassed the Preakness Stakes (G2), the second leg of the Triple Crown, while Preakness winner Napoleon Solo is skipping the Belmont.
The rest of the Belmont field includes longshots Powershift, Growth Equity, Ottinho and Vitruvian Man.
By the time the Belmont is ready to start as race 13 in a 14-race program that includes five earlier Grade 1 stakes, the weather could play a part in the outcome.
The Weather Channel report for Saratoga Springs on Saturday calls for rain showers early then thunderstorms with heavy rainfall later in the day. There’s also potential for severe thunderstorms with a high temperature near 80 degrees and winds 10-15 mph. Overall, there’s a 70% chance of rain in the area.
Two horses, Vitruvian Man and Growth Equity, have run over wet tracks. Vitruvian Man ran second in an allowance race at Churchill Downs on Nov. 22 over a sloppy track and Growth Equity won the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct on May 9 over a wet track listed as good.
The late-closing, stretch-long rallies that resulted in Golden Tempo edging Renegade by a neck was as thrilling as a race can be, especially with a huge field of 18.
With the field half the size, racing tactics could change, particularly since it appears the early pace will not be as fast as the Derby.
“I think Renegade is tractable enough that if they’re not going real fast, he can be a little closer than he has been,” Renegade’s Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said as he seeks a fifth Belmont victory. “He’s adaptable enough to adjust to a really slow pace.”
Golden Tempo is true late closer and DeVaux said there’s no plan to change his style. The 3-year-old Curlin colt, leaves from the outside post 9.
“Because he doesn’t get out of the gate particularly fast, the field can clear, and he can just get himself a ground-saving position,” DeVaux said this week. “We weren’t worried about it in the Derby, kind of the same thing here. He doesn’t have anybody to impede him from the other side. He can just hopefully get a clean break and tuck in.”
Trainer Chad Brown, seeking his first Belmont win, has a trio of entries in Emerging Market, Growth Equity (Peter Pan Stakes winner on May 9) and Otthino, a distant second in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) on April x.
“Hopefully, the field will string out and organize for not only Emerging Market, but all the horses can find their path not too wide and have a nice fair race for everybody,” Brown said.
The early speed should come from Powershift, Pletcher’s other entry, and Vitruvian Man, with Emerging Market in close pursuit.
Commandment, meanwhile, may be overlooked in the field after finishing off the board in the Derby after a somewhat compromised run under Luis Saez. Hall of Famer John Velazquez has the call in the Belmont, the colt’s fourth jockey in his last four starts.
Is the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) and Florida Derby (G1) winner ready for another go at 1 ¼ miles?
“I think a lot of it is what you did in your last race,” trainer Brad Cox said. “Obviously, that was not the performance we were looking for in the Derby, but I thought it was a good run, and I think he’s a little bit forgotten. I think if you do zero in on him and watch his race in the Derby, I think he actually ran pretty well.”
Five weeks after her historic win in the Derby, DeVaux could become the second female trainer in three years to win the Belmont. In 2023, Jena Antonucci became the first female trainer win a Triple Crown race with Arcangelo.
Golden Tempo, with Jose Ortiz aboard, has finished in the top 3 in all five of his starts, but he’s not as versatile as others in the field.
“His running style does leave him vulnerable,” DeVaux said. “He’ll come with a run, but there’s a lot that has to go right for him. In the Derby, everything went right. With that being said, he acts like he’s going to take another step forward.”
The weather was a threat last year, but the track dried out in time for the Belmont and Derby winner Sovereignty went on to win for trainer Bill Mott, who seeks his second straight Belmont victory – the last trainer to go back-to-back in the Belmont was Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, who won three in a row from 1994-1996.
Belmont Stakes Undercard
The Belmont is the main event of the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga (June 3-7). The undercard on Saturday’s 14-race program includes six other graded stakes with some of the sport’s most well-known horses competing.
The $400,000 True North Stakes (G3) features 2025 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner Bentornato and 2025 champion male sprinter Book’em Danno.
The $500,000 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) has a field of nine, including unbeaten Crude Velocity for trainer Bob Baffert and Taj Mahal, the Preakness favorite who finished a disappointing 10th.
The $1 million Metropolitan Handicap (G1) boasts a stellar matchup of 2025 Preakness and Haskell Stakes (G1) winner Journalism and Baffert’s Nysos, a winner in seven of nine races – he was second in his two other starts.
The $1 million Manhattan Stakes (G1) features top turf runners in Rhetorical, Deterministic and France-bred Bright Picture.
Belmont Stakes Picks: 1 Commandment 2 Renegade 3 Chief Wallabee
10% BACK ON HORSES
Daily Cash Rebates
JOIN NOW
10% BACK ON HORSES
Daily Cash Rebates
JOIN NOW
Richard Rosenblatt is an award-winning journalist and former Associated Press Horse Racing Editor. Currently, he serves as the news editor at US Racing, overseeing exclusive content from contributors worldwide.
Belmont Stakes: Can Renegade Avenge Kentucky Derby Defeat? | US Racing Top World News Today.
Hence then, the article about belmont stakes can renegade avenge kentucky derby defeat us racing was published today ( ) and is available on TOP world News today ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Belmont Stakes: Can Renegade Avenge Kentucky Derby Defeat? .. US Racing )
Also on site :