Golden Tempo adds Belmont Stakes to Kentucky Derby victory

Golden Tempo turned the final jewel of the Triple Crown into a statement win, stalking the pace at Saratoga Race Course and driving past Commandment to win the Belmont Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths and complete a rare Kentucky Derby-Belmont double.

The Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable colt covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.49 over a fast track, with Jose Ortiz keeping him in striking range before asking for his best late run. Renegade, who entered the race as the morning-line favorite in a nine-horse field, finished third, four lengths behind Commandment, and Chief Wallabee was fourth. Golden Tempo went off at 6-1 and again proved that his finishing kick can decide top-level races when the setup is right.

The 2026 Belmont was the 158th running and carried a $2 million purse, but the setting made it feel larger than one race. Saratoga hosted the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from June 3 through June 7, the third and final year the race was staged there while Belmont Park undergoes reconstruction. Post time was scheduled for 7:04 p.m. Eastern, and officials moved it up a few minutes as a storm threat developed. Light rain began before the start, but the track remained playable and the race went off without heavy precipitation. Saratoga’s main-track configuration also meant the Belmont was run at 1 1/4 miles rather than the traditional 1 1/2.

For trainer Cherie DeVaux, the win carried history as well as momentum. She became only the second female trainer to win the Belmont Stakes, following Jena Antonucci, whose Arcangelo upset in 2023 made her the first woman to win a Triple Crown race and the first to take home the Belmont winner’s carnations. CBS News and the Associated Press also noted that DeVaux was born in Saratoga Springs and began her training career there, giving the victory a homegrown edge at the track where she made her name.

Golden Tempo’s Belmont run now changes the way the rest of the 3-year-old season has to be viewed. He skipped the Preakness Stakes, but the Derby-Belmont combination still gives him a claim as the division’s standard-bearer, not just another classic winner. He became the 13th horse to win both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and with Saratoga’s Belmont run set to return to Belmont Park in 2027, he left the temporary stage having answered nearly every question asked of him since Churchill Downs.