Matt Shifman

The latest horse racing news from Horse Racing Nation!

The $2 million Belmont Stakes will be run at Saratoga next Saturday at the modified distance of 1 1/4 miles for the third time while construction of the new Belmont Park is completed.

There’s still a week to go to the big Belmont Stakes weekend at Saratoga. Thankfully, Churchill Downs brings us a loaded card of racing with seven stakes races to bridge the gap until then. The day’s headliner is the $300,000, Grade 3 Blame Stakes for older males on the dirt.

The Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes will be run at Saratoga on Saturday at the modified distance of 1 1/4 miles for the third time while construction of the new Belmont Park is completed.

Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Metropolitan Handicap drew a field of seven older dirt males. Once again in 2026, the Belmont Stakes racing festival will be run at Saratoga as the rebuilding of Belmont Park is completed. The one-mile handicap will start from the Wilson Chute, which is midway in the first turn. In addition to purse money, the winner gets an entry in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in November at Keeneland.

The final act of the 2026 Triple Crown will play out Saturday at Saratoga as nine sophomore colts look to add a classic victory to their resume. A big winner in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby and a narrow runner-up in the Kentucky Derby, Renegade was installed as the 2-1 morning line favorite in the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes.

The listed, $125,000 Pegasus Stakes, which serves as the final local prep race for the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Stakes on July 18, drew a field of six 3-year-olds who will race 1 1/16 miles Saturday at Monmouth Park. The top two finishers from the Pegasus receive a free entry into the Haskell.

Baby Vino ran away from the five-horse field in the $125,000, listed Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park by 10 3/4-lengths. In doing so the Lindsay Schultz runner earned a free entry into the $1 million, Grade 1 Haskell Stakes on July 18.

With the Triple Crown behind us and Golden Tempo the established leader of the pack, it’s time to look ahead to what is setting up to be an intriguing and exciting second half of the season. Before arriving at Keeneland for the 2026 edition of the Breeders’ Cup, racing action will be heating up across the country for major summer races.

The Grade 1, $2 million Stephen Foster, which will be run Saturday at 1 1/8 miles at Churchill Downs, originally drew a field of seven horses from the older male dirt division. The Foster provides the winner with a spot in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31.