Golden Tempo wins Belmont after Kentucky Derby triumph

Golden Tempo swept past the field in the stretch Saturday at Saratoga Race Course, winning the 158th Belmont Stakes five weeks after his Kentucky Derby victory and giving trainer Cherie DeVaux another place in racing history.

With Jose Ortiz aboard, Golden Tempo held off Commandment near the finish line to capture the final leg of the Triple Crown series. Commandment finished second, and favorite Renegade, the Kentucky Derby runner-up trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, was third.

The victory did not complete a Triple Crown sweep. Golden Tempo skipped the Preakness Stakes in Maryland on May 16. But the colt became the 13th horse to win both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes.

Golden Tempo closed in a race that unfolded at a slower pace than the Derby at Churchill Downs, covering the 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.49. The Belmont is traditionally known as the Test of the Champion and is usually run at 1 1/2 miles, the longest of the three Triple Crown races. Saturday’s race was shortened to the Derby distance because of the configuration of the main track at Saratoga.

“Golden Tempo is amazing. Jose is amazing,” DeVaux said, according to The Guardian. “I think he needed to do this to kind of show that he was meant to win the Derby and that he is a horse that belongs in that conversation of being one of the top three-year-olds.”

DeVaux, who was born in Saratoga Springs and began her training career at the track, made history last month as the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner. With Saturday’s win, she became the second woman to train a Belmont winner, following Jena Antonucci’s 2023 victory with Arcangelo, and the first woman to win multiple Triple Crown races.

“He wasn’t going to get that setup as he did in the Derby,” Ortiz said, according to The Guardian. “We all knew that, and I was a little worried about it. He needed some kind of setup. But today, there wasn’t one and he showed up today and won.”

The reported odds for Golden Tempo varied. CBS News reported he entered the race at 9-2, while The Guardian said he won at odds of 6-1. Golden Tempo paid $14 to win, $7.32 to place and $3.88 to show, according to The Guardian. The outlet reported Commandment paid $7.02 to show and $4.08 to place, while Renegade paid $2.52 to place.

Renegade was bet down to 8-5 after opening at 2-1 on the morning line, CBS News reported. The rest of the betting was spread across the nine-horse field, with Golden Tempo, Chief Wallabee, Commandment and Emerging Market all at 5-1. Powershift, also trained by Pletcher, was 12-1; Growth Equity was 13-1; Ottinho was 19-1; and Vitruivian Man was 20-1.

This was the third and final Belmont Stakes at Saratoga while Belmont Park, the race’s traditional home on the border of Queens and Long Island, is demolished and rebuilt. The race is scheduled to return to Belmont Park next year.

“It’s so meaningful,” DeVaux said. “A lot of family here. Saratoga, it’s been wonderful to have such a historic race here…. It’s so meaningful because the town gets to have this and celebrate it along with us.”