Belmont Stakes 2025 Post Positions, Entries, and Betting Odds

Belmont Stakes 2025

We don’t have the appeal of a potential Triple Crown winner in the Belmont Stakes this year, but we do have a terrific field of eight 3-year-olds at Saratoga for the last leg of the Triple Crown. Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty, favorite and Kentucky Derby runner-up, and Preakness Stakes winner, Journalism, and “Also Eligible” Baeza, who snuck into the field at Churchill Downs thanks to a scratch and finished third, are all slated for the starting gate on Saturday.

Post time is scheduled for 7:04 p.m. ET on Saturday June 7 and the horses will go 1 ¼ miles again this year because of the configuration of Saratoga compared to Belmont Park, which continues to undergo renovations.

Odds listed are from the time of the post draw.

After pacing the field at Pimlico three weeks ago, Journalism will look for his second Triple Crown win as the favorite in the Belmont Stakes. The son of Curlin will be the only horse in the field to have run in all three legs. 

Trainer Bill Mott opted not to run Sovereignty right away after the Kentucky Derby win, ending the chances for a Triple Crown winner, but protecting the horse for this mile and a quarter scamper. We’ll see if we get another staredown on the final stretch between those two here, as the odds imply we could.

The task at hand is a little less arduous because the Belmont Stakes is a mile and a quarter instead of a mile and a half for the second straight year. Dornoch won for Luis Saez and Danny Gargan last year. Saez draws the ride here on long shot Uncaged, one of two Todd Pletcher entries in the field. The other is Crudo, who enters off of a listed stakes win in the Sir Barton at Pimlico on Preakness weekend.

But, all eyes will be on Journalism, Sovereignty, Baeza, and Rodriguez in all likelihood. Journalism finished a length and a half behind heavy closer Sovereignty under the twin spires and then took care of business in the shortest of the three Triple Crown races. But, Sovereignty and Baeza, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby despite not originally being in the field, are fresher. So is Rodriguez, who was scratched from the race with a foot bruise.

The last time we saw Rodriguez for Bob Baffert was at the Wood Memorial, where he won at Aqueduct for rider Mike Smith. Smith, a three-time Belmont Stakes winner, is looking for his first triumph in this race since he led Justify to the Triple Crown in 2018.

Hill Road is the most interesting of the double-digit shots coming off of a win in the Peter Pan Stakes. It was a Grade 3 race, but he did win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last year for Chad Brown and he gets an intriguing rider change with Irad Ortiz Jr. instead of Flavien Prat, who assumes the mount on Baeza. Irad is a two-time winner in this race, including the 2022 one with Mo Donegal for Pletcher.

The Kentucky Derby was run on a muddy track and the weather cleared up in time for a pretty decent trip at Pimlico in the Preakness. Rain is expected into Friday at Saratoga and showers are possible for the early part of Saturday, so you’ll want to watch the weather very closely here. A sloppy track could favor the closers, as the pacesetters, like Rodriguez, may not be able to get out ahead by much.

We’ll have tons of Belmont Stakes weekend coverage from Mike Somich, Dave Tuley, Ed Sehon, and Adam Burke as post time approaches, including our special VSiN At The Track broadcasts on Friday and Saturday with Somich and Patrick Meagher.

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