2025 Belmont Stakes Racer Placement, Lineup, and Betting Probabilities
Belmont Stakes 2025: A Showdown for the Ages
The Belmont Stakes, known as the "Test of the Champion," is set to happen at Saratoga Race Course on June 7, 2025, and it's shaping up to be a barnburner! Eight top-notch thoroughbreds will face off for the last leg of the Triple Crown.
The field includes some familiar faces such as the Kentucky Derby winner, Sovereignty (2-1), and the favorite, Journalism (8-5), who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. They'll likely lock horns in the final stretch, but keep an eye on their competition.
Baeza (4-1), who snuck into the field after a scratch at Churchill Downs, finished third in the Kentucky Derby without even being in the original lineup. With better prep, he could challenge the top two.
Rodriguez (6-1), who last ran at the Wood Memorial, is fresh and ready, along with his jockey, three-time Belmont Stakes winner Mike Smith. Smith's last Triple Crown win was aboard Justify in 2018.
Hill Road (10-1) is an interesting long shot as he comes off a win in the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park. Despite this race being a Grade 3, Hill Road won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile the previous year and has a new rider this time, Irad Ortiz Jr., who has already won two Belmont Stakes.
The other horses in the field are Uncaged, Crudo, and Heart of Honor. Uncaged, trained by Todd Pletcher, is a long shot but cannot be discounted. Crudo enters off a listed stakes win in the Sir Barton at Pimlico, and Heart of Honor, the other Pletcher entry, is also long odds at 30-1.
Saratoga Race Course will host this year's Belmont Stakes due to ongoing renovations at Belmont Park. The action kicks off an exciting weekend, with expert analysis from Mike Somich, Dave Tuley, Ed Sehon, and Adam Burke as the race approaches. Make sure to tune in for the special VSiN At The Track broadcasts on Friday and Saturday with Somich and Patrick Meagher.
Insights:
The Belmont Stakes field for 2025 will include eight horses: Hill Road, Sovereignty, Rodriguez, Uncaged, Crudo, Baeza, Journalism, and Heart of Honor. The race is scheduled for June 7, 2025, at 7:04 p.m. ET at Saratoga Race Course. Key horses to watch include the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, Journalism, the Kentucky Derby winner, Sovereignty, and the fresh runner, Rodriguez.
Sports betting enthusiasts should keep a close eye on the Belmont Stakes odds as the race approaches, with favorite Journalism (8-5) aiming to complete the Triple Crown, accompanied by Sovereignty (2-1), the Kentucky Derby winner. Meanwhile, watch out for the long shot, Hill Road (10-1), who has a history of success in horse-racing, having won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in the previous year and the recent Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park.
