How to bet on the 2026 Belmont Stakes: Betting guide, picks, odds, predictions, promos, start time at Saratoga

The final leg of the Triple Crown season begins at 7:04 p.m. ET on Saturday night, with the 2026 Belmont Stakes taking place at Saratoga Race Course in New York. Belmont Park is currently undergoing major renovations, so Saratoga is hosting the race for the third straight year. There will be no Triple Crown winner this year, as the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes were won by different horses. For anyone wondering how and where to bet on the Belmont Stakes or what the best Belmont Stakes promo codes are, our horse racing betting guide showcases the best Belmont Stakes betting apps. Claim the latest TwinSpires promo code CBSSPORTS to get up to $400 in racing credits here:

Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby before skipping the Preakness Stakes to prepare for this race. Napoleon Solo won the Preakness, but he is not in the Belmont Stakes field. Golden Tempo is 9-2 in the Belmont Stakes odds, sitting behind Renegade (2-1) and Chief Wallabee (3-1).

The No. 1 post position has produced the most winners (24) of any gate in the Belmont Stakes, but Vitruvian Man has the longest odds in this year's field at 30-1. The other eight horses are all 20-1 or shorter, including Commandment (6-1) and Emerging Market (6-1). Before you place any wagers, this Belmont betting guide gives you everything you need to know before you begin placing wagers. Claim the latest DK Horse promo code to win a share of $150,000 if you wager $5 on the winning horse:

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How to bet on the Belmont Stakes today requires going to official horse racing betting apps. New users can claim a TwinSpires promo code, DK Horse promo code or 1/ST BET offer code. Tap the CLAIM BONUS button on this page, create an account, deposit funds, select the Saratoga track, go to Race 13 for the Belmont Stakes, and choose the Win wager to bet on the winner of the race.

Wagering is open for the 158th Belmont Stakes until post time at 7:04 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 6. Remember, you cannot bet on the Belmont Stakes on sportsbook apps. Here are the top Belmont Stakes betting sites:

Here is the field for the 2026 Belmont Stakes. There were nine horses that drew into the final leg of the Triple Crown this year. Click on the odds to wager now.

This marks the first Triple Crown race for Vitruvian Man, and just his second Grade I stakes event. Vitruvian Man placed third at the Santa Anita Derby on April 4 in his last start. He's only won one of six career races, with one second-place finish and two third-place results. He has the longest odds in the 2026 Belmont Stakes field, however, horses with longer odds have fared well in the 2026 Triple Crown season.

Powershift, of Repole Staples, makes his Triple Crown debut as well as his first run in a Grade I stakes race. Powershift, trained by Todd Pletcher, is coming off a win at Churchill Downs on Derby Day on May 2 for his first win in three career starts. Pletcher has won four Belmont Stakes, last doing so in 2022. Jockey Luis Saez has won two of the last five Belmont Stakes, including in 2024 at Saratoga Race Course.

Chief Wallabee is in strong hands entering the Belmont Stakes, as he will be trained and jockeyed by the winning tandem from last year's Belmont Stakes. Trainer Bill Mott and jockey Junior Alvarado combined to guide Sovereignty to a Belmont Stakes victory last year, and they look to do the same with Chief Wallabee. The colt had a solid showing at the Kentucky Derby, finishing fourth, which was the worst of his four career results. Three of his four starts have been graded races, including finishing third at the Grade I Florida Derby, and he's a horse with a team capable of victory on Saturday.

Renegade was the favorite at the Kentucky Derby before finishing second behind Golden Tempo, who will also run in the Belmont Stakes. Renegade, under Repole Staples ownership and trained by Todd Pletcher, bypassed the Preakness Stakes to prepare for the Belmont. The Arkansas Derby winner has two victories, three runner-ups and a third-place finish in six career races, and he certainly figures to be a popular bet at the 2026 Belmont Stakes. His jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr., won the Belmont Stakes in 2022 and 2016. Pletcher has won four Belmont Stakes, last doing so in 2022.

Ottinho has one of the longest odds in the 2026 Belmont Stakes field, but longer odds-horses have struck gold in the 2026 Triple Crown season. Could Ottinho keep this trend going? He has a top trainer behind him in Chad Brown, and although Ottinho hasn't run in a Triple Crown race, he finished second at the Grade I Blue Grass Stakes on April 4 in his last start. Ottinho is accustomed to New York racing, with three of his four career races coming in New York, including a victory. He's finished in the top three in all four career starts, and has a chance to return a nice payday to bettors while bringing Brown his first Belmont Stakes victory.

Also trained by Chad Brown, Growth Equity has a chance to deliver Brown his first Belmont Stakes victory. Growth Equity has two wins and two second-place finishes in his career, but he's never run in a Grade I stakes race. He is coming off back-to-back wins, though, most recently winning Grade III Peter Pan on May 9. His debut race came in Saratoga, where he finished second in July.

Commandment was tied for the second-lowest odds at the Kentucky Derby, but ran a disappointing race to finish seventh. He was coming off four straight wins, including taking the Grade I Florida Derby. The Brad Cox horse won the Grade II Fountain of Youth on February 28, a month before winning the Florida Derby. With a month between the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, Commandment figures to be in the mix to win the final leg of the Triple Crown. Cox won the 2021 Belmont Stakes.

Emerging Market won each of his first two races, including the Grade II Louisiana Derby, before finishing 10th at the Kentucky Derby. He's the third horse in the field for Chad Brown; however, he's the horse with the best odds by a wide margin, so this could be where Brown's attention heavily lies.

Golden Tempo will start from the outside, and he's rested and prepped for the Belmont Stakes after winning the Kentucky Derby. Last year, Sovereignty broke a 29-year streak of a non-Triple Crown winning horse taking both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, creating a historic reason that both favors and goes against Golden Tempo's chances of victory. Golden Tempo was a 30-1 longshot to win the Kentucky Derby, and you certainly won't get that value on him at the Belmont. He's won three of five career races, but before the Derby, Golden Tempo finished third in back-to-back Grade II stakes races. Trainer Cherie DeVaux seeks to become the second woman to win the Belmont Stakes.

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The 2026 Belmont Stakes post positions have been revealed, so let's take a detailed look at post position betting ahead of the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes.

The No. 1 post position has produced the most winners at the Belmont Stakes with 24 and the best win percentage at 20.2%. The No. 3 post position has produced the second-most Belmont Stakes winners (16).

Six of the past seven post positions have produced 10 or more Belmont Stakes winners. Gate No. 6 (9 winners) is the only post position in the first seven with fewer than 10 winners, but two of the past four Belmont Stakes winners have broke from the No. 6 post position: Mo Donegal (2022) and Dornoch (2024).

Betting on a horse to finish in the top two

Betting on a horse to finish in the top three

Combining all three wagers (win/place/show) into one bet

Betting on the first two finishers in exact order

Betting on the top three finishers in exact order

Betting on the top four finishers in exact order

Betting on the top five finishers in exact order

A combination bet where all possible numeric combinations are used for a certain group of horses

Betting on the winners of two straight races

A multi-race bet in which the winners of all included races must be correct

A win bet is a bet on which horse will win the race. You cash your ticket only if your horse finishes first.

A place bet allows you to profit if your horse finishes first or second. However, you will not earn as much money as a win bet if your horse finishes first.

A show bet is a wager on a horse to finish first, second or third. You get paid if the horse finishes inside the top three, but your payout is only the show payout.

This combines win, place and show into one ticket. If your horse wins, you get all three payouts, if it comes in second, you get place and show payouts, and if it finishes third, you get just the show payout. The wager is split into three equal bets.

Exactas require you to correctly choose the first two finishers in exact order. If you play a 2-7 exacta, the No. 2 horse must win and the No. 7 horse must finish second.

Trifectas are similar to exactas, except they offer an even larger payout, as bettors must choose horses to finish first, second and third in the correct order. A 2-3-7 trifecta means the No. 2 horse must win, the No. 3 horse must finish second and the No. 7 horse must finish third.

Superfectas add an additional horse to the ticket, as you must pick the horses that finish first, second, third and fourth in exact order.

A Super Hi-5 adds a fifth horse to the bet, with bettors needing to correctly select the first five horses to cross the finish line in exact order. These are sometimes called "pentafecta" bets, and they offer huge payout potential.

A box wager is an exotic bet where bettors select multiple horses to finish in the top positions in any order, covering all combinations. This increases the chance of winning, but it also costs more to pay for every combination and lowers the potential payout. These can be used with multiple types of exotic wagers, such as exactas, trifectas and superfectas.

This wager combines two races into one ticket, as you must select the winner of two straight races. The bets must be placed before the first race starts.

These bets combine at least three races into one bet. You must pick the winner of three consecutive races in a Pick 3, four consecutive races in a Pick 4, five consecutive races in a Pick 5 and six consecutive races in a Pick 6. The Pick 6 wager can offer the biggest payouts in horse racing betting, as it is difficult to get all six races correct.

When you're betting on the Belmont Stakes, horse racing betting sites and apps will let you add multiple horses to your win bets, exactas, trifectas, and more. However, the more horses you add, the more expensive your ticket gets, and it even becomes possible to cash a ticket that pays out less than the cost of the ticket.

Here's what common exotic tickets will cost you, depending on how many horses you include in your boxed wager.

If you place a $2 win/place/show wager on a horse in the Belmont Stakes, it is the same as placing three separate bets on the horse: $2 to win, $2 to place (finish top two), $2 to show (finish top three). Therefore, that wager costs $6.

The more horses you add to a win/place/show ticket, the higher the cost of the wager:

An exacta is a wager that tries to predict the top two finishers in the race in the exact order of finish. An exacta box allows for the horses you choose to finish in any order.

A trifecta is a wager that tries to predict the top three finishers in the race in the exact order of finish. A trifecta box allows for the horses you choose to finish in any order.

A superfecta is a wager that tries to predict the top four finishers in the race in the exact order of finish. A superfecta box allows for the horses you choose to finish in any order.

Horse racing betting is different than traditional sports betting, and it is important for bettors to understand how it differs before placing wagers. It usually features pari-mutuel wagering, which means bettors are betting against each other instead of a sportsbook. All the money goes into a pool, the operator takes a percentage (the takeout), and then the remaining pool is divided among winning tickets after the race.

Odds change continuously before the race starts, and your payout depends on how everyone else chooses to wager. Payouts generally stay low when favorites win, while a longshot entering the mix can create massive payouts. A $1 exacta at last year's Belmont Stakes paid $6.60, while a $1 trifecta paid $13.80 and a $1 superfecta paid $40.50.

The Belmont Stakes is the oldest Triple Crown race and the fourth-oldest race in North America. This year is the 158th running of the race, which began in 1867 but was not run from 1911-12.

Secretariat set the record for the Belmont Stakes in 1973 when he ran it in 2:24 flat at the traditional 1.5-mile distance. Sovereignty set the record at 1.25 miles last year at 2:00.69, which is the distance the race is being run this year.

The slowest winning time at the traditional 1.5-mile distance was in 1995 when Thunder Gulch won in 2:32.00, which was eight seconds slower than Secretariat's record-setting time.

Secretariat also set the record for largest margin of victory in 1973 when he won by 31 lengths. The second-biggest victory was Count Fleet's 25-length win in 1943.

The biggest longshot to win the Belmont Stakes was Sarava (70-1) in 2002, while Sherluck was 65-1 in 1961 and Temperence Hill was 53-1 in 1980.

James G. Rowe Sr. holds the record for most wins by a trainer with eight victories, which all came between 1883 and 1913. Woody Stephens is the only trainer who won the race five straight times, which he did from 1982-86.

James R. Keene and Belair Stud share this distinction with six wins each, all 12 of which came before 1960.

This record is also shared, as Jim McLaughlin and Eddie Arcaro each won the race six times. McLaughlin's wins came in the 1800s, while Arcaro's wins came in the 1940s and 1950s.

The largest Belmont Stakes crowd was in 2004 when 120,139 fans watched Birdstone spoil the Triple Crown bid of Smarty Jones at Belmont Park.

The most money bet on a Belmont Stakes card came in 2015, with $135.8 million being wagered when American Pharaoh won the Triple Crown. There was $82.4 million wagered on just the Belmont Stakes race that day.

A horse has to win three races to claim the coveted Triple Crown, including the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. Only 13 horses have ever won the American Triple Crown. There will not be a Triple Crown winner in 2026 after Golden Tempo, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, decided to skip the Preakness, but he'll compete in the 2026 Belmont Stakes.

Excluding the 13 Triple Crown winners, Golden Tempo can become the 13th horse to win the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in the same Triple Crown season. Only 12 horses have won the first and last leg of the Triple Crown, making it rarer than actual Triple Crown wins. Sovereignty won the Derby and Belmont last year, becoming the first horse to accomplish the feat in 30 years (Thunder Gulch, 1995)

Sir Barton etched his name in history when he became the first horse to win the Triple Crown. Sir Barton claimed the 1919 Belmont Stakes by five lengths, setting an American record time of 2:17.40 for the 1 3/8-mile distance.

Gallant Fox won 11 of his 17 starts, including the three Triple Crown races. He won the 1930 Belmont Stakes in dominant fashion, leading wire-to-wire to defeat Whichone by three lengths.

Omaha won the 1935 Belmont Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths against Firethorn. Omaha remains the only Triple Crown winner sired by another Triple Crown winner (Gallant Fox).

War Admiral was victorious in 21 of his 26 races, and unplaced just once in his career. War Admiral was the fastest horse at the Belmont Stakes in 1937, winning the Belmont by three lengths over Sceneshifter.

Whirlaway won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes in 1941, and is the only horse in history to win those four races. He was named Horse of the Year in 1941-42 and was elected to the Racing Hall of Fame in 1959.

Count Fleet won the 1943 Belmont Stakes with ease, beating the competition by an impressive 25 lengths. Count Fleet's dominant 25-length victory set a new stakes record of 2:28 1/5, and stood as the largest winning margin in the classic race until Secretariat in 1973.

Assault went on to become the seventh Triple Crown winner and won the Belmont Stakes by three lengths. To this day, Assault remains the only Texas-bred winner of the Triple Crown.

Citation was dominant en route to the Triple Crown in 1948. Citation, who was the first horse with $1 million in career earnings, won 16 consecutive stakes races, including the Belmont Stakes. He overcame an early stumble to post a wire-to-wire victory by eight lengths.

Secretariat posted the fastest winning time in Belmont Stakes history in 1973 at 2:24, winning by a remarkable 31 lengths. He set speed records in all three Triple Crown races, cementing himself as one of the greatest thoroughbreds in the history of horse racing.

Seattle Slew became the 10th Triple Crown winner and won the Belmont by four lengths over runner-up Run Dustry Run. Seattle Slew went on to sire 111 stakes winners, including 1984 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Swale.

Affirmed beat his rival Alydar in all three of the Triple Crown races, including the 1978 Belmont Stakes. Ridden by 18-year-old jockey Steve Cauthen, Affirmed's winning time of 2:26 4/5 was the third best in history at the time. Affirmed was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1980.

American Pharoah, trained by Bob Baffert, won the 2015 Belmont Stakes with a final time of 2:26.65. American Pharoah cemented himself as one of the greatest race horses by becoming the first horse in history to win all three American classics and the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Justify is the last horse to successfully win the Triple Crown. He won the 2018 Belmont Stakes with a time of 2:28.18, en route to becoming the second undefeated Triple Crown winner in history.