Saturday marks the 158th running of the 2026 Belmont Stakes, the final leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. For the third straight year, it will be run at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., over 1 1/4 miles. Renegade is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the 2026 Belmont Stakes odds, and brings the strongest resume in the field, having never finished worse than third in any of his six career starts. Post time is approximately 7:04 p.m. ET, with temperatures expected near 80 degrees and some scattered storms expected in upstate New York. Claim your exclusive TwinSpires $400 signup offer here with promo code CBSSPORTS, which is higher than what’s available to the general public:
Chief Wallabee is next on the board at 3-1, while Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo checks in at 9-2 after skipping the Preakness Stakes. Commandment and Emerging Market are both 6-1. Golden Tempo would become just the 13th horse in history to win both the Derby and the Belmont in the same year, not counting Triple Crown winners. 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 not backing Golden Tempo (9-2). Golden Tempo produced one of the more impressive Kentucky Derby performances in recent memory, rallying from dead last to win under trainer Cherie DeVaux, who became the first female trainer in history to win the Kentucky Derby. The colt has three wins in five starts, but Demling does not believe the setup at Saratoga will replicate the conditions that made that Derby run possible.
“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 setup of this race will be anything like it was in the Derby, which was perfect for a deep closer.”
With a smaller nine-horse field and far less pace expected, Demling believes Golden Tempo will not find the late running lane that made him a winner five weeks ago, and he is directing his money elsewhere. See which horses to back at SportsLine and 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 that 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.
