The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival is a five-day extravaganza that will be hosted by Saratoga Springs in 2025, with the action getting underway on Thursday (first race approximately 02:40 am AEST).
The festival is headlined by the Belmont Stakes, which will be held on Sunday, June 8 (09:00am AEST).
Known as the ‘Test of the Champion’, the Belmont Stakes has been won by some of the most illustrious horses in history, including Secretariat – who broke the world dirt record in this race back in 1973 – and Triple Crown winner Count Fleet.
Trainers like Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, William Mott and Chad Brown will be amongst those hoping for more Belmont Stakes Festival success.
Belmont Stakes Festival: Key Races
The jewel in the crown of the Belmont Stakes Festival is, of course, the Belmont Stakes.
With a prize purse of USD 2 million, the Belmont Stakes is one of the richest races in American racing – and, as the third leg of the Triple Crown, also one of the most prestigious.
The festival will feature 27 stakes races in amongst more than 50 different renewals over the five days. The pick of the rest of the Grade 1 action includes the New York Stakes (Saturday), the Just a Game Stakes (Saturday), the Hill ‘n Dale Metropolitan Handicap (Sunday), Manhattan Stakes (Sunday) and the Woody Stephens Stakes (Sunday).
Belmont Stakes Festival: Track Info
The Belmont Stakes Festival has been held for decades at Belmont Park, however, renovation work at the venue saw the 2024 edition switch to Saratoga Springs in New York.
The decision has been taken to remain at Saratoga in 2025, with its dual dirt and turf tracks perfect for hosting a larger number of races across the meeting.
The dirt track, which is nine furlongs around, left-handed and oval in shape, will host the Belmont Stakes and many of the festival’s other key races.
Betting Favourites
Rivalries will be renewed in the Belmont Stakes, with Journalism – the Preakness Stakes winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up – once again leading the betting.
Michael McCarthy’s horse will be joined in the field by Kentucky Derby champion Sovereignty, while Baeza – a gallant third in the Derby from starting odds of $13.00 – will also convene at Saratoga.
There’s a wide-open look to the Woody Stephens Stakes, with Chancer McPatrick, Patch Adams and Citizen Bull all vying for favouritism, while the impressive Spirit of St Louis will likely lead the way in the betting market for the Manhattan Stakes.
The major-winning jockey Flavien Prat is expected to take the ride aboard Excellent Truth, the favourite in the Just a Game Stakes, while the New York Stakes could see an odds-on favourite sent out: Cherie DaVeaux’s She Feels Pretty, the Grade 1 winning filly who prevailed in the American Oaks in 2024.
