Saratoga Springs – The 157th Belmont Stakes felt like a repeat rather than a fresh showdown since it resonated strongly with the Kentucky Derby.
With Long Island-based jockey Junior Alvarado, Sovereign surged ahead early, maintaining a lead of three lengths while Baeza again claimed third place.
Trained by the esteemed Bill Mott, Sovereign earned $1.2 million from a total purse of $2 million, finishing the race in a time of 2:00.69 and paying out $7.00 for a win ticket.
“It was a bit of a déjà vu from the Derby,” Mott remarked. “What that indicates is, well, it’s true—there are three exceptional horses, and I’m really pleased with how [Sovereign] performed, just like in the Derby.”
This victory marked an extraordinary spring for Alvarado, a 39-year-old from Venezuela, who resides in Garden City with his wife and three kids.
Just last month, he threw out the first pitch at a Yankees game, sporting the logo of Hildbrandt’s ice cream shop on his riding pants.
“Two fantastic horses. [Journalism] Honestly, I was surprised to be back after Preakness. Just feels amazing.” [Sovereign] “Today was fantastic.”
Alvarado reflected on winning two Triple Crown races, saying, “It feels surreal, to be honest.”
The main dirt track was rated “fast” about an hour before the Belmont Stakes, although earlier heavy rain caused scheduling changes throughout what was meant to be a 14-race card, resulting in at least 40 scratched horses.
Six grass races felt the impact. Four races—namely 3, 6, 10, and 14—were shifted to the main track.
Two Grade 1 Stakes, the Jaipur and Manhattan, will still occur on the grass but have been rescheduled to Sunday as the 12th and 13th races, respectively.
The sixth race on Saturday, the Grade 2 Wonder Again, had only five horses left after another five were injured. Nitrogen won by a staggering 17 lengths.
Transitioning from grass to dirt or mud posed a challenging decision for several trainers.
“We went through a lot of ginger today,” noted Mark Cass, the trainer for Nitrogen. “Usually, I don’t tend to worry, but when you have a horse like her, who’s ranked as the best three-year-old filly on grass in North America, you definitely don’t want to risk [her reputation].”
“We debated back and forth, with owner D. J. Stable kind of pushing me—let’s do it,” he said.
“In hindsight, maybe I should have put her on dirt sooner,” Cass continued. “She ran a mile in [1:36.16], and maybe she could have been quicker at [1:34]… I understand it was a small field and they were grass horses, but she was still quite impressive.”
By the time the 12th race rolled around, the sky was clearer, and the track surface had improved after Patch Adams celebrated victory at the Grade 1 Woody Stevens.
Fox’s national broadcast mentioned that the Belmont Stakes will return to Saratoga for the third time in 2026.
In a statement, the NYRA plans to reveal the location of next year’s race shortly.
