It's official. Belmont will be run at Saratoga in 2026
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Making official what had been widely known for a long time, the Belmont Stakes will be held in Saratoga in 2026 and run at 1 1/4 miles, the third straight year the third leg of the Triple Crown will be held at the upstate New York track.
The Belmont, typically run at 1 1/2 miles at Belmont Park, has been run at Saratoga since 2024 due to the renovation of Belmont Park. That track, in Elmont, N.Y., is expected to re-open in September 2026 and the Belmont Stakes will return to Belmont in the spring of 2027.
The official announcement of the Belmont being run at Saratoga in 2026 came in a press release Friday morning from New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
“New York is home to world-class sports and entertainment and this final chapter of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course honors our rich racing heritage while paving the way for a bold, new future at Belmont Park,” Hochul said in a release. “Bringing the race back to Saratoga next year will once again expand the audience for this storied leg of the Triple Crown and ensure fans continue to enjoy the full experience.”
Said NYRA president and CEO Dave O’Rourke: “Saratoga has served our fans and stakeholders extremely well as the temporary home of the Belmont Stakes during the construction of a new Belmont Park on Long Island. As we prepare for the opening of the new Belmont Park in the fall of 2026, NYRA is pleased to bring the Belmont Stakes to Saratoga for a third and final time next June. Belmont Park will always be the home of the Belmont Stakes and we look forward to its return to the newly reimagined Belmont in 2027.”
The Belmont will be held June 6. It is not clear if the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival in 2026 will be four days or five days It was four in 2024 and five in 2025.
The 2025 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival was impacted by rain, which forced NYRA to move two scheduled Grade 1 turf stakes - the Jaipur and Manhattan - from Saturday to Sunday. That forced NYRA to cancel many multiple-race wagers involving those races, which naturally caused a reduction in handle for Belmont Stakes Day from 2024. All-sources handle on Belmont Stakes Day 2025 was $101,861,883, down from $125,748,961 in 2024.
All-sources handle for the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival was $197,784,710, which was a smidge higher than the $197,463,150 handled over four days in 2024.
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