The 158th running of the Belmont Stakes is set for Saturday at Saratoga Race Track in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. It is the final leg of horse racing’s 2026 Triple Crown. Excluding the 13 previous Triple Crown winners, Golden Tempo is looking to become the 13th horse to win the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in the same year. Sovereignty accomplished the feat last year. Claim your exclusive TwinSpires $400 signup offer here with promo code CBSSPORTS, which is higher than what’s available to the general public:
Post time for the 2026 Belmont Stakes will be at approximately 7:04 p.m. ET. Renegade enters as the 2-1 favorite in the 2026 Belmont Stakes odds, followed by Chief Wallabee (3-1), Golden Tempo (9-2) and Commandment and Emerging Market, both at 6-1. Before making any 2026 Belmont Stakes picks, be sure to see the 2026 Belmont Stakes predictions and best bets from SportsLine’s elite horse racing expert Jody Demling.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling hit the top three finishers in the 2025 Kentucky Derby in the correct order. He also called 11 of the last 22 Preakness winners and predicted the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last eight years, including an exacta in 2022 with Mo Donegal and Nest. Anyone who has followed him on horse racing betting sites could be way up.
Now, with the 2026 Belmont Stakes field set, Demling is sharing his 2026 Belmont Stakes betting picks and 2026 Belmont Stakes predictions over at SportsLine. Go to SportsLine to see them.
Top 2026 Belmont Stakes predictions
One surprise in Demling’s 2026 Belmont Stakes picks: He is fading Golden Tempo at 9-2. That’s because Golden Tempo would become just the second horse in the past 30 years to win the Derby and the Belmont Stakes in the same year, excluding the Triple Crown winners. It would also become the first time the Derby and Belmont were won by the same horse in consecutive years, not including the Triple Crown victors.
Demling also thinks Golden Tempo will have a hard time replicating his Derby heroics when he went from last place to first down the stretch. “Yes, the Derby winner is a very nice horse and race a monster race under the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs,” Demling told SportsLine. “But I don’t believe the set up of this race will be anything like it was in the Derby, which was perfect for a deep closer.” See which horses to back at SportsLine. Claim your exclusive TwinSpires $400 signup offer here with promo code CBSSPORTS, which is higher than what’s available to the general public:
How to make 2026 Belmont Stakes picks, bets
Demling is especially high on an epic double-digit longshot who a legendary trainer is “very high on.” Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected 2026 Belmont Stakes leaderboard, over at SportsLine.
Which horse wins the Belmont Stakes 2026, and which stunning longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2026 Belmont Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling’s picks for the Belmont Stakes, all from the expert who has nailed four of the last eight winners.
