Belmont Stakes Odds - Renegade Heads $2m Test

Simon Lewis

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Last updated: 52 minutes ago

Simon Lewis 52 minutes ago

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The 158th Belmont Stakes will see nine horses battle it out on Saturday 6 June 2026.
Renegade leads the odds in a strong nine-horse field.
The race is on Saturday at 1.04am SAST with a purse of $1,200,000 for the winner.

Sovereignty wins the 157th Belmont Stakes (Getty Images).

The 2026 Belmont Stakes takes place at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday, June 6, with a $2 million purse and a scheduled post time of 1:04 am SAST. The Grade 1 race is the final leg of the American Triple Crown and will be run over 1¼ miles on dirt this year.

Known as “The Test of the Champion”, the Belmont is traditionally the longest of the Triple Crown races, staged over 1½ miles at Belmont Park. That distance, a full lap of Belmont’s huge main track, is what gave the race its reputation as a searching examination of stamina, timing and tactical speed.

New course presents new challenges

This year’s edition is different. With Belmont Park still completing its redevelopment, Saratoga hosts the race for a third straight year, with the distance shortened to 1¼ miles because of the track configuration. NYRA says the rebuilt Belmont Park is due to reopen on September 18, 2026, with the Belmont Stakes returning there in 2027.

Renegade heads the odds

Renegade heads the betting at 2-1 after drawing post four, with Chief Wallabee next at 3-1 and Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo at 9-2. Commandment and Emerging Market are both 6-1, while Powershift and Growth Equity are 12-1 shots. Ottinho is listed at 20-1 and Vitruvian Man is the outsider at 30-1.

The Run for the Carnations

The Belmont is also known as “The Run for the Carnations”, with the winning horse traditionally draped in a blanket of white carnations after the race. Last year, Sovereignty won the Saratoga running for Junior Alvarado, trainer Bill Mott and owner Godolphin, completing the 1¼-mile race in 2:00.69.

For bettors, the 2026 race is less about the old 1½-mile slog and more about who handles Saratoga’s sharper version of the Belmont. Position, pace and the timing of the move for home could decide whether Renegade justifies favouritism or one of the bigger-priced runners finds the right trip.