Belmont Stakes Results: Sovereignty Shined Again

NEWS
June 9, 2025

2025 Belmont Stakes Highlights

Sovereignty Dominates the Field and Journalism

 

When the rain finally let up yesterday at Saratoga, the dirt track transformed from sloppy to muddy and ultimately to good, just in time for a clean and thrilling edition of the Belmont Stakes.

On Saturday evening, Sovereignty once again flexed his dominance, outlasting Journalism in a gripping stretch battle to win the $2 million Belmont Stakes (G1). It wasn’t just a repeat of the Kentucky Derby result—it was a more decisive edition of the same rivalry.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Sovereignty ($7 win mutuel) became the first horse since Thunder Gulch in 1995 to capture both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont in the same year, only the 12th to do so overall. Mott’s decision to bypass a Triple Crown bid and skip the Preakness Stakes paid off in spades.

“I’m on a cloud. I’m glad the rain stopped,” Mott said with relief. “If we hadn’t have won today, we would have taken a lot of criticism…but today it really worked out well.”

Ridden by Junior Alvarado for Godolphin, Sovereignty’s versatile racing style brought his record to 6-4-2-0 and earnings above $5 million. The Into Mischief colt finished the 1¼ miles in 2:00.69, crossing the wire three lengths ahead of Journalism.

 

Race Setup & Key Moments

 

Most of the day’s early races were affected by wet weather, with four turf events relocated to the dirt and the Manhattan and Jaipur Stakes postponed until Sunday. However, by race time, the surface had improved to “good,” setting the stage for the main event.

2-1 favorite Journalism stumbled at the break but recovered quickly to stalk pace-setters Rodriguez and Crudo. Meanwhile, Sovereignty settled mid-pack as the leaders splashed through early splits of 23.42, 47.60, and 1:12.20.

Approaching the stretch, Journalism briefly took the lead under Umberto Rispoli, only to be overtaken by Sovereignty’s familiar surge. The rivals briefly battled, but Sovereignty powered clear to win by three lengths—Baeza rounding out the exacta-turned-exact repeat, finishing third as in the Derby.

“Like in the Derby, once I got the chance…when he cut him loose, the horse responded,” said Alvarado.

 

Final Leaderboard & Implications

 

Rodriguez finished fourth, followed by Hill Road, Heart of Honor, Uncaged, and Crudo in that order.

With this win, Mott and Godolphin reinforced their strategic choice to forgo the Preakness in favor of rest—a decision that paid off with Belmont success.

Saratoga will again host the Belmont Stakes in 2026, as Belmont Park undergoes renovations to its venue.

 

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