The Belmont Stakes will host on Saturday a New York rematch of the top two finishing horses from the Kentucky Derby to wrap up horse racing’s Triple Crown for 2026.
Nine horses are set to compete in the Belmont, the finale in the trio of races for 3-year-olds that make up the Triple Crown. No horse will sweep this year’s series because Derby winner Golden Tempo skipped the Preakness Stakes in Maryland on May 16.
2026 Belmont Stakes horses and odds
Renegade, who lost the Derby to Golden Tempo by a neck, was picked as the morning-line favorite for the Belmont with 2-1 odds. The odds will change as bettors place their wagers ahead of Saturday’s approximate post time of 7:04 p.m. ET.
Here’s a complete list of the horses in the Belmont Stakes in order by their post position with their morning-line odds:
- 1. Vitruvian Man, 30-1
- 2. Powershift, 12-1
- 3. Chief Wallabee, 3-1
- 4. Renegade, 2-1
- 5. Ottinho, 20-1
- 6. Growth Equity, 12-1
- 7. Commandment, 6-1
- 8. Emerging Market, 6-1
- 9. Golden Tempo, 9-2
The Belmont, known as the Test of the Champion, is usually the longest of the three Triple Crown races at 1 1/2 miles. But Saturday’s race will be 1 1/4 miles — the same length as the Derby — because of the configuration of the main racetrack at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, where the Belmont has been held since 2024.
The race is expected to return to its home of Belmont Park on New York’s Long Island in 2027 following a major redevelopment project that’s set to be completed later this year.
Before his second-place finish at the Derby on the first Saturday of May, Renegade won the Arkansas Derby in March and Florida’s Sam F. Davis Stakes in February. The bay colt also came in second place in December’s Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York City.
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride Renegade in the Belmont, as he did in the Kentucky Derby. The 33-year-old is seeking his third Belmont victory after winning with Mo Donegal in 2022 and Creator in 2016. In this year’s Preakness, Ortiz was aboard Talkin, who came in 12th place.
Renegade is trained by Todd Pletcher, who teamed up with Ortiz for Mo Donegal’s Belmont victory. Pletcher has also saddled three other winners at the Belmont: Tapwrit in 2017, Palace Malice in 2013 and the filly Rags to Riches in 2007. Pletcher will have another horse in Saturday’s race: Powershift, who was given 12-1 odds in the morning line.
Al Bello/Getty Images 
Chief Wallabee, who was given 3-1 morning-line odds, finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby. The bay colt came into the Triple Crown opener after finishing third in the Florida Derby in March behind fellow Belmont competitor Commandment, who won the race. A month before the Florida Derby, Chief Wallabee came in second behind Commandment at the Fountain of Youth Stakes in Florida.
Junior Alvarado was aboard Chief Wallabee for the Kentucky Derby, and he’ll have the mount in the Belmont. The 40-year-old rode Sovereignty to victory in last year’s Derby and Belmont. At this year’s Preakness, Alvarado finished in 13th place aboard Crupper.
Alvarado teamed up with trainer Bill Mott for Sovereignty’s wins in Kentucky and New York, and the two are together again for Chief Wallabee’s run at the Belmont. Mott has also saddled another winner in the Triple Crown’s third jewel: Drosselmeyer in 2010.
Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images 
With 9-2 morning-line odds, Golden Tempo has a chance to follow in Sovereignty’s footsteps and become the 13th horse to win the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont.
The Derby winner raced in New Orleans ahead of the Run for the Roses, winning January’s Lecomte Stakes and finishing third in February’s Risen Star Stakes. The bay colt also came in third in March’s Louisiana Derby, which was won by fellow Belmont contender Emerging Market.
Jose Ortiz, who rode Golden Tempo to victory in the Kentucky Derby, will have the mount in Belmont. The 32-year-old made it to the winner’s circle with Tapwrit in 2017 and came close with several horses who came in second: Nest in 2022, Tacitus in 2019 and Gronkowski in 2018. At the Preakness, Ortiz finished third aboard Chip Honcho.
Golden Tempo’s trainer Cherie DeVaux, who was born in Saratoga Springs, made history by becoming the first woman to saddle a winner at the Kentucky Derby. She could become the second woman to train a Belmont winner, after Jena Antonucci won with Arcangelo in 2023.
Al Bello/Getty Images 
In addition to his wins at the Florida Derby and Fountain of Youth Stakes, Commandment, who was given 6-1 morning-line odds, also won Florida’s Mucho Macho Man Stakes in January. But the bay colt wasn’t able to keep his winning streak going at the Kentucky Derby and came in seventh.
John Velazquez will be aboard Commandment in the Belmont. The 54-year-old came in 11th in both the Derby and the Preakness, with Further Ado and Corona de Oro, respectively. Velazquez has ridden two Belmont winners — Union Rags in 2012 and Rags to Riches in 2007 — and he’s come in second three times, with Fly Down in 2010, Dunkirk in 2009 and Bluegrass Cat in 2006.
Trainer Brad Cox will be going for his second Belmont win with Commandment. He went to the winner’s circle at the Belmont for the first time in 2021 with Essential Quality. The horse was one of two Cox saddled in that year’s Kentucky Derby to finish in the money, with Essential Quality coming in third and Mandaloun winning the race.
Al Bello/Getty Images 
Emerging Market also received 6-1 odds in the morning line. After winning the Louisiana Derby, the chestnut colt came in 10th place in the Kentucky Derby.
Flavien Prat rode Emerging Market in the Derby, and he’ll have the mount in the Belmont. It will be the 33-year-old’s sixth straight year at the race, with his first ride being his best so far, finishing second aboard Hot Rod Charlie in 2021. At the Preakness, Prat had the mount when Iron Honor came in second.
Iron Honor is trained by Chad Brown, who is saddling Emerging Market in the Belmont as well as Growth Equity and Ottinho, who were given 12-1 odds and 20-1 odds in the morning line, respectively.
Like Prat, this year will be Brown’s sixth looking for a win at the Belmont. He came close in 2018, when Gronkowski came in second.
Only one horse in this year’s morning line was given the long-shot odds of 30-1: Vitruvian Man.
