Belmont Stakes to be run at Saratoga Race Course again in 2026, a third time in a row
Horse racing fans lounge on the grounds of Saratoga Race Course before the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Spectators watch as thoroughbreds parade on the track before 41st running of the Woody Stephens horse race, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Sovereignty (2), with jockey Junior Alvarado up, crosses the finish line ahead of Journalism (7), with jockey Umberto Rispoli up, and Baeza (6), with jockey Flavien Prat up, to win the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Sovereignty (2), with jockey Junior Alvarado up, crosses the finish line ahead of Journalism (7), with jockey Umberto Rispoli up, and Baeza (6), with jockey Flavien Prat up, to win the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Horse racing fans stop to watch as a thoroughbred is led to the paddock before the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Horse racing fans lounge on the grounds of Saratoga Race Course before the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Spectators watch as thoroughbreds parade on the track before 41st running of the Woody Stephens horse race, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Sovereignty (2), with jockey Junior Alvarado up, crosses the finish line ahead of Journalism (7), with jockey Umberto Rispoli up, and Baeza (6), with jockey Flavien Prat up, to win the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) — The Belmont Stakes is set to be run at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York for a third consecutive year in 2026.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York Racing Association announced Friday that it will be the third and last time the Triple Crown finale is held there before returning to Belmont Park on Long Island in 2027.
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'Saratoga has served our fans and stakeholders extremely well as the temporary home of the Belmont Stakes during the construction of a new Belmont Park on Long Island,' NYRA president and CEO David O'Rourke said. "Belmont Park will always be the home of the Belmont Stakes and we look forward to its return to the newly reimagined Belmont in 2027.'
It was confirmation of an expected extension of the race's stay at Saratoga while Belmont Park undergoes nearly a half-billion dollar renovation project. It is on track to reopen in September 2026, with the Breeders' Cup returning to New York at Belmont Park in the fall of 2027.
The Belmont will again be run at 1 1/4 miles instead of its traditional 1-1/2 mile distance that has been known as the 'test of the champion." That has been the case the past two years, as well, because of the configuration of the main dirt track.
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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
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