Golden Tempo will run in the 158th Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 6 at Saratoga Race Course – confirmed, entered, and drawing Post 9 at 9-2 odds. Connections skipped the Preakness Stakes to give the colt extra recovery time, ending any Triple Crown conversation before it started. The reward is a fresher horse, a shorter distance, and a rematch with Renegade that the racing world has been circling since the Derby photo was developed.
Renegade enters the Belmont Stakes as the 2-1 morning-line favorite – the horse Golden Tempo beat by a neck at the wire in Louisville. That margin, that rivalry, and that unresolved question is what makes this race.
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The Preakness Decision – What the Skip Costs and What It Buys
Skipping the Preakness Stakes closed the door on a Triple Crown bid – no ambiguity there. What trainer Cherie DeVaux got in return was a colt pointed at one race with six weeks of steady, low-drama preparation: a 4-furlong work in 48.20 seconds at Keeneland with Jose Ortiz aboard, no hard efforts, no setbacks.
DeVaux cited Golden Tempo’s well-being and long-term prospects as the framework for the decision – the same calculus any serious trainer runs when weighing a second leg grind against a horse’s future. The Belmont Stakes has moved to Saratoga Race Course for the third consecutive year while Belmont Park renovations continue, and it now runs at 1¼ miles instead of the traditional 1½-mile distance. That is the same trip Golden Tempo already won at Churchill Downs. The distance change isn’t a footnote – it reshapes the entire handicapping picture.
Golden Tempo’s Profile and Belmont Outlook
Golden Tempo (9-2, Post 9) arrives at Saratoga with the Kentucky Derby on his résumé and a genuine pace dependency question hanging over every bet. His Derby win was a last-to-first rally – Ortiz held him well off the pace while the speed burned out up front, then turned him loose in the stretch to run down Renegade in the final strides. That running style is real, and the Derby form is legitimate. The question is whether Saratoga’s 1¼-mile configuration gives him enough real estate to do it again.
Post 9 in a 9-horse field is a genuine trip risk at any distance. At 1¼ miles, where the first turn arrives quickly, an outside draw forces either a hard early move to establish position or a wide trip that costs ground. Neither outcome is ideal for a deep closer. DeVaux making history as the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby adds context to the story – it does not change the post-position math. Ortiz, who won the 2017 Belmont Stakes aboard Tapwrit, knows this track. He’ll need to find the right trip from a difficult draw.
2026 Belmont Stakes Full Field and The Rematch with Renegade
The full 9-horse field for the 158th Belmont Stakes, in post-position order – see our Belmont Stakes preview for complete form breakdowns:
- Post 1 – Horse TBD (odds TBD)
- Post 2 – Horse TBD (odds TBD)
- Post 3 – Chief Wallabee (trainer: Bill Mott)
- Post 4 – Renegade – 2-1 (+200)
- Post 5 – Horse TBD
- Post 6 – Horse TBD
- Post 7 – Horse TBD
- Post 8 – Emerging Market (trainer: Chad Brown)
- Post 9 – Golden Tempo – 9-2 (+450)
Renegade (2-1, Post 4) is the class of this field on paper – a horse that lost the Kentucky Derby by a neck and comes back motivated with a favorable draw. He’s trained to handle pace pressure and draws inside where he can control his own destiny. Chief Wallabee (Post 3) brings consistent form under Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Emerging Market (Post 8) exits Chad Brown’s barn with strong Saratoga affinity and breeding that fits the surface. Check today’s race-day scratches and track conditions before betting – Saratoga weather can shift the calculus quickly.
Betting Outlook – Is Golden Tempo Worth 9-2?
At 1¼ miles at Saratoga, the race shape favors stalkers and pace-pressers over pure closers. If Renegade or another contender controls the fractions and keeps them honest, Golden Tempo has a run. If the pace is soft – which this field suggests it could be – his late kick gets harder to deploy from Post 9. The 9-2 price reflects exactly that skepticism: bettors saw a 23-1 Derby winner and aren’t rushing to trust it again at a compressed number.
A win here does more than validate the Derby result – it puts the upset label to rest for good and establishes DeVaux and Ortiz as one of horse racing’s most compelling new partnerships. For complete odds analysis and picks across the full field, see our 2026 Belmont Stakes betting guide.
Our Pick: Renegade to win; Golden Tempo and Chief Wallabee to complete the trifecta if the pace sets up honest.
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