There’s no Triple Crown on the line for the first Belmont Stakes taking place at Saratoga.
But the race does have the first- and second-place finishers from the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. It’s the first time in more than a decade the Belmont has had the Derby and Preakness winners in the field.
You can watch coverage of the 156th running of the Belmont Stakes as early as 10:30 a.m. EDT on FS1, and then it will switch to Fox at 4 p.m. following the first game of the Phillies’ London series against the New York Mets. You can live stream the race on fubo TV (FREE trial), Sling TV (discount) and DirecTV Stream (discount and FREE trial).
Post time is scheduled at 6:41 p.m., a bit earlier than the first two Triple Crown races.
This will be a different-looking Belmont Stakes, which will be run at 1 1/4 miles instead of the traditional 1 1/2-mile distance that has long distinguished the third leg of the Triple Crown. It’s being shortened because of the shape of the track at Saratoga Race Course, which is hosting for the first time while Belmont Park is renovated.
But the change is a major reason why so many of the top 3-year-olds decided to run in the 10-horse field.
Retired jockey and Fox Sports racing analyst Richard Migliore said no matter what the length this will be a challenge for every horse.
- WATCH: FOX will provide the coverage, which you can live stream on fubo TV (FREE trial), Sling TV (discount) and DirecTV Stream (discount and FREE trial)
“It takes nothing away from the event whatsoever,” Migliore told The Associated Press. “It’s an American classic race that’s tough to win. Winning races at the Grade I level, at any distance, whether it’s 5 furlongs or 2 miles, is extremely tough.”
Changing the distance is nothing new for the Belmont, which has been run at various lengths since the first edition in 1867. Going 1½ miles has been a mainstay since 1927, though it was shortened to 1⅛ miles in 2020 when it led off the out-of-order Triple Crown because of the pandemic.
This year, it’s just a quarter-of-a-mile change, but it has been a major factor in the horses’ entry for the stakes.
Derby winner Mystik Danis set to run in the Belmont, but trainer Kenny McPeek said he probably would not have run him at the traditional distance.
“I’d rather it be a mile and a quarter than a mile and a half,” McPeek told the AP. “I could see not taking him down to Belmont and running him at a mile and a half.”
Sierra Leone, with a jockey change and an equipment adjustment, opened as the 9-5 favorite with undefeated, lightly raced Todd Pletcher-trained Mindframe the second choice at 7-2.
Sierra Leone might have won the Derby had he not veered in and repeatedly bumped another horse down the stretch, and trainer Chad Brown is counting on rider Flavien Prat to guide the colt in a clear lane as much as possible.
“As long as you are prepared for him and he runs straight, he should run big,” Brown told the AP. “Just hoping for a good trip. Obviously, we have half as many horses to run down, so that should hopefully be a little easier on him. I just hope he runs the same race as in the Derby.”
McPeek would also take that from Mystik Dan, especially considering the route he got at Churchill Downs from jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. Also back from that race are sixth-place finisher Resilience (10-1), eighth-place Honor Marie (12-1) and 10th-place Dornoch (15-1), who is owned in part by World Series winner Jayson Werth.
The distance change is temporary for the next two years before the race is set to return toremade Belmont Parkin 2026, following$455 million in renovations. It is then expected to go back to being the 1½-mile “test of the champion” that it has been known as for nearly a century.
“In a perfect world, yes, I would like to see it a mile and a half,” Migliore said. “I don’t think it distracts from the race itself being shortened up.”
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