The 158th Belmont Stakes will be contested for the third and final year at historic Saratoga Racecourse in upstate New York while Belmont Park nears the finish line of its $550 million extensive reconstruction project.
Officials have confirmed that the 2027 Belmont Stakes will indeed be contested in its rightful home on Long Island at 1.5 miles followed by the Breeders’ Cup Championships in the autumn of 2027 (which will return to the facility for the first since 2005).
But for this year’s “Third Jewel of the Triple Crown”, Saratoga at 1 1/4miles it is.
So, for our field of nine competitors, it means a shorter distance than the traditional Belmont Stakes, a tighter layout (sharper turns) and more intimate venue.
Also noteworthy is that no Triple Crown is on the line this year. GOLDEN TEMPO won the Kentucky Derby and NAPOLEON SOLO took the Preakness, the second jewel of the TC.
The real story of this year’s Belmont Stakes is a rematch of GOLDEN TEMPO and the horse he beat out by a neck to win the Run for the Rose (RENEGADE). We will also see a few other Kentucky Derby runners try to make a name for themselves.
Additionally, we have no real speed horse entered this year’s race, which will affect at least four of the competitors who tend to favor closing from off the pace including GOLDEN TEMPO & RENEGADE.
The only horse in the race who has even pressed the pace is POWERSHIFT, a stablemate of Renegade. He will be making only his fourth career start, and it is likely that he will be the pacesetter. No other horses in the field have shown an interest in leading or pressing.
Thus, we can surmise that POWERSHIFT on the lead without any real pressure will probably set a more moderate pace for himself which will help stalker-types like CHIEF WALLABEE, COMMANDMENT, GROWTH EQUITY & EMERGING MARKET. These are the horses I’m keying in on plus I can’t ignore RENEGADE who showed me something from his Arkansas Derby win which aligns with how this race is setting up.
Here’s my breakdown of horses who have a legit chance to win & my case for each:
RENEGADE – He had the worst trip in the KD over all others but still managed to get second place and lost by a neck to Golden Tempo. Yes, the pace melted down in that race which enabled his preferred closing style, but it showed just how good and durable and tough this horse is. He’ll likely need to be a bit closer in this race, but he has shown a natural tactical speed before. It’s logical to think his connections want to employ a similar Arkansas Derby plan (which he won) being that race had a similar small field & moderate pace. He came with an impressive burst in that one. It also seems obvious that his connections entered POWERSHIFT to help with the pace and give his stablemate a target.
CHIEF WALLABEE – Similar to COMMANDMENT, he was not helped by the pace setup in the Kentucky Derby and encountered a rough trip mid stretch, but despite losing momentum, he had an impressive fourth place finish (only 2.75 lengths behind the winner) while wearing blinkers for the first time to help sharpen his focus. His legendary trainer BILL MOTT has also expressed a ton of confidence in this colt and has said he experienced no setbacks which makes me like him even more.
COMMANDMENT – In the Kentucky Derby, the pace meltdown did not help this stalker type of racer. And he expended too much energy while making a move too early- as a result he did not have his usual late kick. He was also bumped by OCELLI in the lane which squashed any momentum he might have restarted. But this race setup will be different. He’ll also have two-time Belmont Stakes winning jockey J. Velazquez on board. Too bad the Belmont is not at its usual 1.5 miles this year, this grinder would relish that distance. Needs the perfect trip to get this one.
POWERSHIFT will likely take the lead breaking from the #2 post and ride the rail at his own moderate pace. Could see him try gate to wire. His pedigree suggests he’ll get the distance and the trip he wants without competition at the start. There’s no other speed in the race, so could be let loose on the lead, a dangerous competitor.
EMERGING MARKET can rate, he’s familiar with track, and threw a shoe in the Derby – did that make a diff? He was also passed by horses in Derby coming from the back due to the fast pace. I do also like that he’s beaten GOLDEN TEMPO before and his pedigree lines up perfectly with the distance and challenge ahead.
GROWTH EQUTIY – Why not him? This late blooming son of NYQUIST (2016 Kentucky Derby winner) is jumping up in class for this race but has looked good since his maiden win in March and he has good tactical speed. In the Peter Pan in May, he was dominant and his speeds have slowly improved over time as the distances have gotten longer. Needs to move forward one more time but he could surprise.
A NOTE ABOUT GOLDEN TEMPO – Not taking anything away from his Kentucky Derby win, this horse is a true deep closer that needs a fast pace to win. But it is doubtful this race will align with how he likes to get his job done which is to come from way downtown. However, his trainer CHERIE DEVAUX has said she expects him to take another step forward making this elite racehorse very dangerous in any race. It will be interesting to see how far back he will be with the expected pace setup.
Good luck to all!
HOW TO WATCH THE 2026 BELMONT STAKES:
POST TIME: SATURDAY, JUNE 6 2026 at 7:04PM ET
TV CHANNEL: FOX, FS1