GI Belmont Stakes

There are days in racing that are remembered for the horse. There are other days remembered for the crowd, the weather, the setting, or the history. And then there are rare days when all of it comes together. Saturday at Saratoga was one of those days. The final Belmont Stakes at Saratoga was not simply another great day of racing. It was a day of firsts. Nearly 50,000 people filled Saratoga Race Course to capacity. They came despite the threat of rain. And as the horses were entering the gate...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - She's got the 'Golden' touch. After pulling off a historic 23-1 upset in the GI Kentucky Derby, the Cherie DeVaux-trained 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Golden Tempo (Curlin) doubled up in Saturday's GI Belmont Stakes, held for the third and final time at Saratoga. The Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable homebred and future Lane's End stallion followed in the footsteps of Sovereignty (Into Mischief), who also secured the first and third legs of last year's Triple Crown after famously skipping the GI Preakness Stakes....

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - It was suggested to trainer Brad Cox that Commandment (Into Mischief) was a forgotten horse coming into the 158th running of the $2-million GI Belmont Stakes. "Not with me," Cox said at his office on the Oklahoma Training Track. Then a pause and a smile. "But I know what you mean," he said. "I don't know if he is or not (forgotten). All I know is that he is doing well. I have liked his works since the Derby; I liked how he shipped up here...

Todd Pletcher will have the likely favorite in the GI Belmont Stakes in GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Renegade (Into Mischief) and a live longshot in Powershift (Constitution). He knows how to win the race--he's done it four times. Might this be his fifth? Those were among topics Pletcher addressed when he joined the team on this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. He was the Gainesway Guest of the Week. Breaking from the dreaded post one in the Derby, Renegade was slammed at the start and it took...

Trainer Aggie Ordonez had a glittering prognosis for Om N Joy (Om) the day after her upset victory in the GII Santa Margarita Stakes where she collected a second graded win, and added that her stable star will now point to the GI Clement L. Hirsch at Del Mar. "She's wonderful." Short and sweet, but words all connections want to hear. Ordonez reported the filly was no worse for wear Sunday morning, and that she would have an 'easy 30 days' of training before focus shifted to Del Mar. The...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - As a most memorable May gives way to June, trainer Cherie DeVaux believes that Golden Tempo (Curlin) is ready for his next challenge, the GI Belmont Stakes Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. Four weeks and three works after his dramatic victory in the GI Kentucky Derby, which secured DeVaux a forever place in racing history, Golden Tempo breezed Saturday and shipped Sunday from central Kentucky to upstate New York for the third and final Belmont Stakes at Saratoga. Just before his victory by a neck at...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Post positions will be assigned for the 158th running of the GI Belmont Stakes on Monday at Universal Preservation Hall. The morning line for the final leg of the 2026 Triple Crown will also be announced. Even though he finished second to Golden Tempo (Curlin) in the GI Kentucky Derby, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher thinks his Renegade (Into Mischief) could very well vie for favoritism on the morning line, which is put together by David Aragona of the New York Racing Association. "I think...

'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Golden Tempo (Curlin), the Keeneland-based winner of GI Kentucky Derby, on Saturday had his final work in preparation for the GI Belmont Stakes June 6 at Saratoga Race Course, the track said in a press release on Saturday morning. With jockey Jose Ortiz aboard for trainer Cherie DeVaux, the colt covered four furlongs on a fast track in :48.20. At 7:30 a.m. ET--after the first morning renovation period--Golden Tempo worked on the inside of 4-year-old stakes-placed winner So Sandy (Omaha Beach). Golden Tempo produced...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has updated protocols to further enhance fan safety and security while supporting the longstanding cooler policy tradition at historic Saratoga Race Course, the track said via a press release on Friday. Fans bringing coolers to Saratoga Race Course will be required to ensure all ice is contained inside sealed bags upon arrival at the admission gates. The policy will take effect with the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, June 3-7, and will continue during the Saratoga summer meet, July 3-Sept. 7. The initiative is...

The June 6 GI Belmont Stakes has lost two potential starters as the trainers of Potente (Into Mischief) and Chip Honcho (Connect) have declared their horses out of the race. The news was first reported by the Daily Racing Form's David Grening. Trainer Steve Asmussen told Grening he is not sure where Chip Honcho will run next. Trained by Bob Baffert, Potente will run next in the GIII Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 7. Potente, winner of the GII San Felipe earlier this season, was last seen...

The historically unrewarding inside post position--now winless in 41 years--kept Renegade from being favored in the GI Kentucky Derby. But the adverse gate draw and some jostling both after the break and in the final stages didn't keep this hard-charging Into Mischief colt from barreling home with a tenacious late run that, in many years, would have been good enough to win the first leg of the Triple Crown. The connections of Renegade (like 15 other Derby participants) predictably bypassed the May 16 GI Preakness Stakes. After breezing a half-mile...

Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's homebred Golden Tempo (Curlin), the Keeneland-based winner of the May 2, GI Kentucky Derby, on Saturday turned in his second of three works at the track in preparation for the GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course June 6, according to a press release from Keeneland on Saturday morning. With jockey Jose Ortiz aboard for trainer Cherie DeVaux, the colt covered five furlongs on a good track in 1:00.20. The workout was originally planned for Friday, but was postponed due to wet conditions after...