Belmont Stakes draws 3.73 million viewers as Triple Crown drought continues
Belmont’s TV audience slipped to 3.73 million, but non-CAW wagering rose even as CAW handle fell. That split is the better sign for racing’s future.
The Belmont Stakes still found a national audience from Saratoga Race Course, but the sharper read was in the betting windows: non-CAW wagering rose even as television softened. FOX and FS1 averaged 3.73 million viewers for the June 6 race, and Belmont Stakes Day still generated more than $116 million in all-sources handle, a reminder that the sport’s commercial power now comes from more than one lane.
FOX said the race peaked at about 4.7 million viewers during the 15-minute window around the Belmont. That was down slightly from 3.83 million in 2025, but it still topped the 2024 average of 3.66 million and the 2023 figure of 3.52 million. The ceiling remains obvious. The Belmont has gone eight straight years without a Triple Crown bid on the line, and the audience is nowhere near the old sweep-driven peaks of 21.9 million for Smarty Jones in 2004, 18.6 million for American Pharoah in 2015, or 12.7 million for Justify in 2018.
The more important number for the sport’s future may be the one buried in the wagering mix. Daily Racing Form reported total single-race betting on the Belmont at $42.5 million, down 20.9% from $53.8 million a year earlier. But the non-CAW side increased, which matters because it points to everyday horseplayers showing up rather than just a spike from computer-driven money. CAW handle fell from $8.7 million to $4.5 million after the New York Racing Association’s new restrictions limited players to no more than six bets per second in the final two minutes to post.
That is the split signal racing should care about. TV still gives the Belmont reach, but betting tells you whether the race is actually converting attention into action. Saratoga did that better than a generic broadcast number suggests, even with Belmont Park under construction and the race staged in an unusual June 3-7 festival setting.
The Belmont went off at 7:01 p.m., three minutes ahead of its scheduled 7:04 post because of weather concerns. In the end, that late-afternoon crowd at Saratoga and the bettors behind the windows told the same story: the Belmont still matters, but its most valuable audience is the one that actually plays.
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