Belmont Stakes 2025: Draw, post positions and morning line

Journalism and Sovereignty, who won the first two jewels of the Triple Crown, were made the top two choices on the morning line Monday afternoon when they were drawn into a field of eight 3-year-old colts entered for Belmont Stakes 2025 at Saratoga.

Drawing post 7, Journalism was made the 8-5 program favorite by New York Racing Association handicapper David Aragona. Sovereignty got post 2 and odds of 2-1.

Journalism and jockey Umberto Rispoli squeezed their way between two horses at the three-sixteenths pole at Pimlico on May 17 on the way to a half-length victory in Preakness 2025. Rispoli has the ride again on the Curlin colt trained by Michael McCarthy for owners Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, breeder Don Alberto, Bob LaPenta, Elayne Stables 5 and the Coolmore trio of Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith.

“Looking like where we’re drawn here, there’s a little bit of speed inside of us. ... I see us running into the first turn, and always a Triple Crown race, a very honest pace,” McCarthy said. “I think we’ll be forwardly placed.”

Journalism is the only horse who will have run in all three Triple Crown races this year. Saturday he will make the eighth start dating to his October debut.

“He’s been kind of the same horse since July of last summer,” McCarthy said. “He does everything you’d ask a good horse to do. Eats well, trains well, acts well. I thought through the last six, seven weeks here, his energy has been the same throughout. Obviously, Saratoga we know is very good for horses. He seems a little bit re-energized up here.”

Sovereignty will be ridden again by Júnior Alvarado. He piloted the Godolphin homebred Into Mischief colt to a 1 1/2-length victory over runner-up Journalism in Kentucky Derby 2025 on May 3. It was the second Derby win for trainer Bill Mott, who said three days after the race that he would not run Sovereignty back in the Preakness.

“I thought being a small field, eight horses, I was going to be happy with whatever post position we got. I don’t think it’s a big issue for him,” Mott said about his colt who displays a closing style. “He’s been moving well over the track and eating the bottom out of the feed tub. He’s carrying his weight well, so I hope he’s doing as good on Saturday as he was (Monday) morning.”

Baeza (4-1), who finished third in the Kentucky Derby for trainer John Shirreffs, returns for the Belmont with Flavien Prat back in the irons from post 6.

Shirreffs said he was happy to be back at Saratoga, where he said horses are usually happy.

“It’s the first time for them to be out amongst the trees and get that kind of faraway look,” he said. “There’s always something different to do here. We could go to (the) Oklahoma (training track). We can go over to the main track. We can walk in the back and on the grass, so it gives horses a lot of different opportunities to maybe express themselves a little differently.”

Front-running Wood Memorial (G2) winner Rodríguez (6-1), whose foot problems kept him out of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, will be saddled by Bob Baffert with Mike Smith getting the ride from post 3.

“I think it’s a good post,” said Jack Wolf of Starlight Racing, one of Rodríguez’s owners in the partnership led by SF Racing. “It really doesn’t matter I don’t think in this particular race where they start and all that.”

Wolf said he has received positive reports about Rodríguez since getting back on the track for Tonja Terranova, who is assisting Baffert this week.

“Bob and Tonja (have) had the horse out for a couple days, and they all say he’s doing well, and he’s over the foot injury,” Wolf said. “You know he’s kept some pretty good company before this race. He’s run against Journalism and Baeza, and Mike Smith’s not a bad rider.”

Hill Road (10-1), who won the Peter Pan (G3) last month for trainer Chad Brown, will have Irad Ortiz Jr. riding from the rail post since Prat committed to Baeza.

Four-time Belmont-winning trainer Todd Pletcher has two new shooters to the Triple Crown series. Crudo (15-1), who led from gate to wire to win the Sir Barton on the Preakness undercard, drew post 5 and will be ridden as usual by John Velázquez. Uncaged (30-1), an allowance victor who finished sixth in the Peter Pan, drew post 4 and gets 2024 Belmont-winning jockey Luis Sáez for the first time.

Eurasia-based Heart of Honor (30-1), fifth in the Preakness, will be ridden again by Saffie Osborne, the daughter of trainer Jamie Osborne. The Honor A. P. colt got the outside draw.

The 1 1/4-mile Belmont Stakes has been shortened from 1 1/2 miles and transplanted to upstate New York for a second consecutive year while Belmont Park is rebuilt. Post time is scheduled for Saturday at 7:04 p.m. EDT. Fox will televise the race live.