June 9, 2025 by Savannah Winter (‘26)
June 9, 2025 by Olivia Clemmensen (‘26)
This past weekend, Saratoga Springs prepared for one of the biggest races in the horse racing industry: the Belmont Stakes. After hosting last year’s race, Saratoga Springs was more than ready to see the large crowds of bustling tourists and horse racing fans once again. In Saturday’s race, the Saratoga Racecourse saw Sovereignty take home his second win of the Triple Crown this year, experiencing what is only the start of the track season the town of Saratoga is known for.
Since 1905, the Belmont Stakes horse race has been hosted at Belmont Park Racetrack in Elmont, NY. However, due to this venue’s renovations, Saratoga Racecourse was asked to host this third leg of the triple crown this year and last. This popular tourist attraction and famous horse-racing event has brought an influx of tourists, enthusiasm, and spirit to the town of Saratoga for the second year in a row. Whether you meet at the track with friends and family to watch the horses race for the title of Belmont Stakes winner, or head downtown to be surrounded by the thousands of people that gather in Saratoga, you are sure to have a good time. The Belmont Stakes race no doubt adds to the sweet charm of Saratoga and makes many people look forward to the upcoming races and summer’s track season to come. Races occur every 30 minutes to an hour as people crowd at the fence to eagerly cheer on their horse. The music is loud and there are food stands or pop-ups everywhere you look. Especially this past weekend, for the big race on Saturday, June 7th, the track was abuzz as people bet on their favorite horse, wore their best fascinators, and watched one of the biggest events in the horse-racing world.
What is the Belmont Stakes?
The Belmont Stakes is a very famous horse racing event that is part of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred horse racing. In addition to the Belmont Stakes, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes are the other two major horse races that make up the Triple Crown. If all of these races are won in a single year, it is considered one of the greatest accomplishments in thoroughbred horse racing, although it is a very rare sighting. In each of these events, 3-year-old horses race in various lengths from 1.25 miles (Kentucky Derby) to 1.5 miles (Belmont), which is the longest. This race is one of the most watched horse races in the country with a record number of 21.9 watchers in 2004. So, it is clear why this race brings in so many tourists!
History of Belmont:
The first Belmont race took place in 1867 at Jerome Park Racetrack in the Bronx. It was financed by August Belmont Sr., which is where the race got its name from. The race remained at this racetrack until 1890 when it was moved to Morris Park Racecourse. Finally in 1905, the race was transferred to Belmont Park where it remained before undergoing construction and temporarily coming to Saratoga Springs for the past two years. Belmont Stakes take place on dirt and is a 1.5-mile race. The record time for this race is 2 minutes and 24 seconds, which has remained a record for the past couple decades. The winning prize money of the winning horse is usually around $1.2 million dollars, which shows the huge significance and attention this race has- it is one of the biggest amounts of prize money a horse can win in the horse racing industry.
Belmont Stakes, also known as “The Test of the Champion” because of how long the race is, was moved to Saratoga Springs in 2024 due to the renovations and construction that Belmont Park was under. This continued into 2025 but as of right now, the location for the 2026 Belmont is unknown.
After the winning horse crosses the finish line and enters the winning circle, a silver bowl trophy is awarded to its jockey. This trophy was first introduced in 1896 and was designed by Tiffany and Co.
2025’s Belmont Stakes Race:.
On June 7th, fans were filled with anticipation as 8 Thoroughbreds; Hill Road, Sovereignty, Rodriguez, Uncaged, Crudo, Baeza, Journalism, and Heart of Honor, lined up at the starting gate at around 7:04 pm, ready to complete race three of the Triple Crown and win the $2 million prize.. The top two horses, Sovereignty and Journalism, faced each other once again after racing together in the Kentucky Derby. Similar to the Derby five weeks ago, Sovereignty and the colt’s jockey, Junior Alvarado, successfully outkicked Journalism in the last leg of the race, finishing in a tight first with a time of 2:00.69.
In Race 1 of the triple crown, the Kentucky Derby, was won by Sovereignty, who in a close race beat Journalism who would then go on to make a comeback and win Race 2, the Preakness a few weeks later. The owners of Sovereignty infamously pulled their horse from the Preakness in order to give them time to prepare for the Belmont. Without having any injuries or physical ailments, this decision ended up being a large mistake, preventing Sovereignty from winning the title of Triple Crown 5 weeks later at the Belmont in Saratoga.
As Sovereignty brought his Belmont win to his hometown of Kentucky, tourists and locals alike who came to see this famous race were in a large uproar of excitement. The local charm that Saratoga brought for this start of track season will only continue throughout the summer, as the Racecourse will host the rest of its races in July and August.