Golden Tempo claimed victory in the 158th Belmont Stakes on June 6, 2026, at Saratoga Race Course, five weeks after winning the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs [1, 2]. The race was held over a shortened distance of 1 1/4 miles instead of the usual 1 1/2 miles due to renovations at Belmont Park, marking the third consecutive year the Belmont has been run at Saratoga [1, 3, 4]. Post time was 7:04 p.m. ET [2, 3, 4, 5].
Golden Tempo held off Commandment to win, with Renegade finishing third in a field of nine horses. Golden Tempo completed the race in 2:03.49 and paid $14 to win, $7.32 to place, and $3.88 to show [1]. Renegade was the 2-1 morning-line favorite, while Golden Tempo was third favorite at 9-2. Chief Wallabee and Commandment were also top contenders [2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 4, 5, 9, 10].
Trainer Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train multiple winners of Triple Crown races after Golden Tempo's Belmont victory, adding to her Kentucky Derby success. She said, "Golden Tempo is amazing. Jose is amazing. I think he needed to do this to kind of show that he was meant to win the Derby and that he is a horse that belongs in that conversation of being one of the top three-year-olds" [1]. Jockey Jose Ortiz said, "He wasn’t going to get that setup as he did in the Derby. We all knew that ... But today, there wasn’t one and he showed up today and won" [1].
Experts had questioned Golden Tempo's chances on Belmont's altered conditions. Horse racing analyst Gene Menez said, "I'm going to completely toss Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, who is unlikely to get the sweet pace setup that greatly helped him win the Derby." He called Golden Tempo "a bad bet for the Belmont" due to the expected slow early pace that does not suit the horse's typical closing style [2, 11]. Five of the nine Belmont starters had run previously in the Kentucky Derby [3, 5]. Notably, Preakness winner Napoleon Solo did not participate in the Belmont [7, 5, 9, 10], and Golden Tempo had skipped the Preakness after his Derby win [7, 4, 12, 10].
The Belmont Stakes offered a $2 million purse this year [3]. After 2026, the Belmont is expected to return to its traditional 1 1/2 mile distance at Belmont Park once renovations are completed [1, 3, 7, 4].
