The pinnacle of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival is today with the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes. It’s the second year in a row that Saratoga is hosting Belmont week, due to the massive ongoing renovation project at Belmont Park on Long Island.

The Belmont Stakes will be contested at Saratoga Race Course for the second straight year due to renovations at Belmont Park. Journalism and Sovereignty, the winners of the first two Triple Crown races, are the headliners in the eight-horse field. One of those two horses is expected to win given how strong each of them have looked in 2025.

Saratoga itself is a draw for avid fans, given the track’s place in history, but the debate continues about how to draw casual fan interest in the Triple Crown.

Spinning Colors, ridden by John Velazquez, won the Mount Vernon to cap off a day of seven stakes races to open the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga.

Belmont Stakes will be held at Saratoga Race Course at a shortened distance of 1¼ miles. Kentucky Derby top three finishers Sovereignty, Journalism, and Baez will compete, with Journalism entering as the favorite after winning the Preakness.