Belmont 2026: Golden Tempo wins with last-to-first rally
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Golden Tempo validated his Kentucky Derby victory when he once again rallied from last this time to win the $2 million Belmont Stakes 2026 at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday. On this day Golden Tempo was not a 28-1 long shot but was the 6-1 fourth choice in the wagering.
The Belmont victory for trainer Cherie DeVaux was the second time in four years that a woman won the third leg of the thoroughbred Triple Crown. DeVaux joined Jena Antonucci who won the race in 2023 with Arcangelo. DeVaux also became the first woman to win both the Derby and the Belmont.
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“I thought that because of the way the race was run in the Derby, he was having to go out and prove himself,” DeVaux explained. “We felt the best horse won the Kentucky Derby and it just solidified that today.”
DeVaux made the 2026 Triple Crown the second year in a row that the Kentucky Derby winner skipped the Preakness opting to run with five weeks rest before the Belmont. Trainer Bill Mott did it last year with Sovereignty who went on to be named the champion of the 3-year-old division.
“I do think that we made the right decision,” DeVaux stated. “I don’t think we would have the same horse if we did run back in two weeks. It’s a horse by horse, case by case decision. For him, with as much growth as we have seen in him, it would have been hard for him to follow that up in two weeks and then subsequently in three weeks in the Belmont.”
Against the field of nine at Saratoga with regular rider Jose Ortiz aboard, Golden Tempo again found himself at the back of the field, although this time he was only seven-lengths behind. He stayed at the back through the first six furlongs of the 1 ¼-mile race.
Powershift and Growth Equity were the pacesetters for the beginning part of the race when Golden Tempo was waiting in the back. As they began to fade Chief Wallabee and Renegade moved to the front and Ortiz got his horse to move forward.
“Jose found himself at the back of the pack and he just rode him super confidently,” DeVaux described. “He had a lot of horse under him. At the top of the stretch, he had him in a position to make his late run and Golden Tempo did the rest.”
"I think the break helped him a lot,” Ortiz stated. “He broke very good. I was able to be last, but he was in contact with the field. I kept close contact with the field and when I asked him to go, he was there for me."
In the end, Golden Tempo hit the wire with a 1 ¼-length advantage in a final time of 2:03.49. Golden Tempo upped his career record to 6: 4-0-2 with $4,633,000 in earnings.
The five horses that ran in the Kentucky Derby swept the top five positions in the Belmont. Golden Tempo paid $14.00 for a winning wager. Commandment, who was seventh in the Kentucky Derby, had the second-best late move to complete the $2 exacta of $111.34. Renegade held on for third after he narrowly missed the win in the Derby and the $2 trifecta paid $205.28. As on the first Saturday in May, Chief Wallabee was again fourth and Emerging Market was fifth after running tenth in the Derby.
“Obviously, the Travers is going to be our next big goal,” DeVaux said about the possible next race for Golden Tempo. “How we get there, you can see it on the track, what all of our markers are. We're hoping to translate it to the Travers after what we saw today."