The 157th Belmont Stakes, held June, 2025, at Saratoga Race Course, featured a dramatic rematch of this year’s top three Kentucky Derby finishers and delivered a thrilling finish for racing fans. Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby winner, captured the Belmont crown by three lengths, solidifying his status as the season’s breakout star.
The field of eight included headline names: Journalism, the Preakness Stakes champion and morning-line favorite at 8-5 odds; Sovereignty, the 2-1 second choice; and Baeza, a 4-1 contender who rounded out the top three in both the Derby and Belmont Rodriguez, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike Smith, returned from a Derby scratch to finish fourth, while Hill Road, Crudo, Uncaged, and Heart of Honor completed the lineup.
This year’s race was shortened due to Saratoga’s smaller track, and with Belmont Park under renovation, the stakes carried a record $2 million purse The full finishing order:.
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1st: Sovereignty (Jockey: Junior Alvarado, Trainer: William I. Mott).
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2nd: Journalism (Jockey: Umberto Rispoli, Trainer: Michael W. McCarthy).
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3rd: Baeza (Jockey: Flavien Prat, Trainer: John Shirreffs).
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4th: Rodriguez (Jockey: Mike Smith, Trainer: Bob Baffert).
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5th: Hill Road (Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr., Trainer: Chad C. Brown).
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6th: Heart of Honor (Jockey: Saffie Osborne, Trainer: Jamie Osborne).
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7th: Uncaged (Jockey: Luis Saez, Trainer: Todd A. Pletcher).
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8th: Crudo (Jockey: John R. Velazquez, Trainer: Todd A. Pletcher).
With no Triple Crown winner this year, Sovereignty’s decisive Belmont triumph sets the stage for a compelling summer campaign, as fans and owners look ahead to the next big tests for these elite three-year-olds.
