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.

Just before noon on Saturday, the New York Racing Association announced that its two Grade 1 grass races on the 14-race Belmont Stakes card would be moved to Sunday, while all of the remaining grass races on the card would be moved to the dirt.

With that, a blockbuster card appeared to be headed for a big-time bust.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - It was just six days before the 2025 Florida Derby, on March 23, when jockey Junior Alvarado’s dream to finally win the Kentucky Derby nearly ended. The 38-year-old veteran suffered a slightly fractured scapula when his mount, the Bill Mott-trained Term, fell after suffering a heart attack less than a quarter-mile into a maiden race on the turf at Gulfstream Park. 

All-sources single-race betting on the Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York was up 5 percent compared to betting in the same pools last year, according to charts of the races.

Betting in the win, place, show, exacta, trifecta, and superfecta pools this year was $53.77 million, according to the chart of the race, compared to $51.19 million last year. This year’s Belmont had eight horses, while last year’s Belmont, also at Saratoga, had a nine-horse field.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The fresh 3-year-old - and now undoubtedly the best 3-year-old - won the Belmont Stakes.

Sovereignty, who beat Journalism by 1 1/2 lengths in the Kentucky Derby five weeks ago at Churchill Downs, was purposely held out of the Preakness two weeks later by his connections to point to the Belmont. Sovereignty delivered a performance on Saturday at Saratoga that was even better than in Louisville, running away from Journalism, the Preakness winner, in the final furlong, to win the Belmont by three decisive lengths.

Curlin ran with distinction through the three Triple Crown races in 2007. He finished third in the Kentucky Derby in just his fourth career start, won the Preakness Stakes, and finished a hard-fought second to fellow champion Rags to Riches in the Belmont Stakes. On Saturday, his son Journalism, who has helped cement Curlin’s reputation as one of the most consistent active sires in the American classics, will become the only member of his crop to start in all three 2025 Triple Crown races.

Join Daily Racing Form's Andrew Beyer, Steven Crist, and Brad Free as they discuss the 2025 Belmont Stakes and Metropolitan Handicap, providing selections and analysis.