The 158th running of the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, will be contested in Saratoga, New York, at 7:04 p.m. ET on Saturday.
This will be the third and final edition of the Belmont run at Saratoga before it returns to Belmont Park in 2027. Belmont Park has been undergoing major renovations since 2024, forcing the race to be run at an alternate venue and shortened distance of 1¼ miles.
The $2 million race will run with a nine-horse field and will feature a rematch between Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, Chief Wallabee (fourth in the Kentucky Derby), Renegade (second in the Kentucky Derby), Commandment (seventh in the Kentucky Derby) and Emerging Market (10th in the Kentucky Derby).
Here are the major storylines, contenders and potential bets to make.
Editor's note: Field is accurate as of the time of publish.
What's the biggest storyline?
The patchwork Triple Crown series will come to an end this year, as the Belmont and the Preakness will return to their previous venues in 2027. This edition will be a makeshift "test of champions" run at the same distance as the Kentucky Derby.
The last two Belmont Stakes winners at Saratoga were Sovereignty and Dornoch, both of whom were close to or just off the pace of the front-runners. If there's a similar setup in this running of the Belmont, it could prove tough for deep closers such as Derby winner Golden Tempo.
Get to know the field
Horses are listed in order of post position alongside Morning Line odds.
1. Vitruvian Man (30-1)
Vitruvian Man is the longest shot in the race and one with some of the most unique connections. Run Fast Racing, a horse racing ownership group that includes rappers Lil Wayne and Lil Yachty, recently bought an undisclosed percentage of ownership into the colt. Run Fast Racing offers fans an "ownership experience" for a minimum of $100 a month.
Vitruvian Man is one of two horses that is coming off a two-month layoff. His last race was a third-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes -- his only graded stakes experience in his career. That effort also came off a long layoff, with four months between races.
Bet him if: You believe he is a late blooming colt who is starting to find his stride, and that he could benefit with fresh legs after the layoff. He would need someone to set a good pace up front to benefit in the latter half of the race.
2. Powershift (12-1)
Powershift, a Todd Pletcher trainee, didn't make his first start until February and won his first race in May at Churchill Downs. The lightly raced colt finished second to Emerging Market in his career debut. He will likely be placed near the front of the pack. Owner Mike Repole also co-owns favored Renegade.
Bet him if: You think he's ready for a jump back up in class after finishing sixth in the Tampa Bay Derby in his second start. His front-running style could also aid him in a shortened Belmont.
3. Chief Wallabee (3-1)
Chief Wallabee's trainer, Bill Mott, elected to skip the Preakness, following the same path as last year when Mott bypassed the Preakness with Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty. Chief Wallabee has raced four times with one win in his debut, and has been beaten by Belmont contenders Golden Tempo, Renegade and Commandment.
Bet him if: You believe that traffic down the stretch impeded Chief Wallabee's chances of winning the Kentucky Derby. He was jostled between horses in the final strides and couldn't match Golden Tempo's closing kick but still managed to finish fourth.
4. Renegade (2-1)
It's hard to knock Renegade for his body of work -- five starts, a Grade I win in the Arkansas Derby and a runner-up finish in the Kentucky Derby and Remsen Stakes as a 2-year-old. Renegade will likely be heavily bet in this race, but he'll deserve it despite losing to Golden Tempo by a neck in his last outing.
Bet him if: You were impressed by his runner-up effort in the Kentucky Derby despite coming from the No. 1 post position, which is commonly considered the worst starting position in that race. Renegade should benefit from a much smaller field this time and will almost certainly be in contention in the final stages of the race.
5. Ottinho (20-1)
Ottino is the other horse in this field who hasn't raced since April, when he finished second to Further Ado in the Blue Grass Stakes with blinkers on for the first time. Ottino has finished no worse than third in his four lifetime starts but was beaten by Further Ado by 11 lengths in his last start.
Bet him if: You like trainer Chad Brown's trio of horses and feel confident one of them can grab a piece of the prize money. Brown has won two Preakness Stakes with two additional runner-up finishes and has finished second and third in the Belmont Stakes. He has the breeding for an upset -- his half-brother is Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year.
6. Growth Equity (12-1)
Growth Equity is essentially the newcomer in this race, having bypassed the Triple Crown trail to make his stakes debut in the Peter Pan Stakes on May 9. He has been impressive in his past two starts, winning by four lengths in a maiden race on March 20 and then by two lengths in the Grade III Peter Pan.
Bet him if: You think he is an improving colt who will only get better after his first graded stakes try, and that his front-running style will help in a race that doesn't have a lot of speed.
7. Commandment (6-1)
Commandment was considered one of the top contenders for the Kentucky Derby but ran a disappointing seventh after getting caught up in traffic. Commandment will likely settle in the middle of the pack and attempt to make a late move in this race, with the benefit of less traffic.
Bet him if: You draw a line through his Kentucky Derby performance and look at his earlier body of work, when he had a four-race win stretch from November to March, including two graded stakes wins and a six-length win in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes in January.
8. Emerging Market (6-1)
Emerging Market faded to 10th in the Kentucky Derby after showing early speed and was later found to have lost a shoe during the race. The Louisiana Derby winner has previously beaten Golden Tempo (third in that race). He has followed a similar path to Powershift after not racing as a 2-year-old.
Bet him if: You want to throw out the Derby performance and focus on his ability to stalk the pace, which could serve him well if there is a lack of speed in this race. If Emerging can set himself up in good position near the front of the pack, he might be able to spring an upset and provide a good value play.
9. Golden Tempo (9-2)
The Kentucky Derby winner heads to the Belmont Stakes with jockey Jose Ortiz aboard for their sixth race together. Golden Tempo has been training at Keeneland and will make his first start at Saratoga on Saturday. He will need a horse to set the pace to benefit his last-to-first closing style.
Bet him if: You think the Kentucky Derby winner has the best overall résumé (hit the board in four graded stakes races) and will benefit from skipping the Preakness. Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby off a six-week layoff and will be racing with a month's rest this time.
Take me to the window
Looking at both the last two runnings of the Belmont Stakes and the types of horses who won those races, a front-running horse with a price seems appealing in this race.
Renegade will certainly be hard to bet against, but as the favorite going into this race, he'll likely go off at low odds. An alternative bet would be to hope that he repeats his Kentucky Derby performance to capitalize on a better price.
Bet Emerging Market across the board (win, place, show), Emerging Market over Chief Wallabee in exacta bets, Emerging Market over Chief Wallabee, and Golden Tempo in trifecta bets.
