This year’s Belmont Stakes promises to be a battle of champions, as both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winners will be bidding for another victory on Saturday.
Derby champion Mystik Dan and Preakness champion Seize The Grey are among the favorites for the final jewel in this year’s Triple Crown, but will face tough competition from the field of 10.
There is a change to this year’s edition, though, with the race being hosted at the Saratoga Race Course in New York while Belmont Park, which usually hosts the race, undergoes construction work. It’s the first time in its 156-year history that the race will be hosted at a different track.
How to watch
The 156th running of the Belmont Stakes will take place on Saturday, June 8, with the post time at 6:41 p.m ET. Fans can watch the race live on Fox Sports.
No Triple Crown winner in 2024
The surprise Kentucky Derby champion Mystik Dan failed to keep the possibility of a Triple Crown success alive after finishing second at the Preakness Stakes last month.
The race was won by Seize The Grey who held off Mystik Dan’s challenge on the home stretch.
Despite the two champions set to line up at the start on Saturday, the current pre-race favorite for the Belmont Stakes is actually Sierra Leone.
The three-year-old was one of the horses involved in the Derby’s dramatic photo-finish, finishing second behind Mystik Dan after eventually breaking free from a congested group.
The Derby, in a news release, said it was “the closest three-horse photo finish since 1947.”
“If [Sierra Leone] had kept a straight line, it’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t have won,” trainer Chad Brown said, per the New York Post.
“But that’s horse racing, a nice consolation prize would be the Belmont.”
Sierra Leone bypassed the Preakness Stakes so is likely fresh for the third leg of this year’s Triple Crown. He will also have a different mount onboard with Brown opting to switch Derby jockey Tyler Gaffalione with Flavien Prat.
Another element to consider ahead of this year’s race is the change of track and distance.
The race has become known as ‘The Test of Champions’ over the years, owing to the mile-and-a-half distance on the big sandy track at Belmont Park.
This year, however, the race will be scaled back to a mile-and-a-quarter which will demand something different from the field of stellar candidates.
Belmont Stakes entrants
1. Seize the Grey (8-1)
2. Resilience (10-1)
3. Mystik Dan (5-1)
4. The Wine Steward (15-1)
5. Antiquarian (12-1)
6. Dornoch (15-1)
7. Protective (20-1)
8. Honor Marie (12-1)
9. Sierra Leone (9-5)
10. Mindframe (7-2)
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