Golden Tempo wins the 2026 Belmont Stakes, month after its historic Kentucky Derby win
Golden Tempo won the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Springs, adding the last Triple Crown race to its Kentucky Derby victory.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Golden Tempo closed strongly to win the 2026 Belmont Stakes, finishing ahead of Commandment and Renegade. The result made trainer Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner and only the second to train a Belmont winner.
Golden Tempo won a big horse race called the Belmont Stakes after already winning the Kentucky Derby. It was like winning the first and last game of a championship series, and the horse's trainer made history too.
Analysis
Race result
Golden Tempo won the 2026 Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, finishing the 1 1/4-mile race in 2:03.49. With Jose Ortiz aboard, the horse surged late and held off Commandment at the finish. Renegade, the Kentucky Derby runner-up, finished third.
Why this stood out
Golden Tempo had already won the Kentucky Derby a month earlier, and the Belmont added another major victory to that resume. The article says Golden Tempo became the 13th horse to win both the Derby and the Belmont.
The win also gave Cherie DeVaux a milestone of her own. According to the article, she became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner and only the second woman to train a Belmont winner, after Jena Antonucci in 2023 with Archangelo. DeVaux was born in Saratoga Springs and started her training career at the track, which adds a local angle to the result.
Race context
This year's Belmont was run at Saratoga for a third and final time while Belmont Park on the border of Queens and Long Island is being rebuilt. The race is expected to return to Belmont Park next year. The article also notes that the Belmont was contested at 1 1/4 miles rather than its usual 1 1/2 miles because of Saratoga's track configuration.
Key points
- Golden Tempo won the 2026 Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Springs.
- The horse had also won the Kentucky Derby a month earlier.
- Jose Ortiz rode Golden Tempo, which entered the race at 9-2 odds.
- Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner.
- The Belmont was held at Saratoga while Belmont Park is rebuilt.
Golden Tempo's win strengthens the horse's standing as a major stakes winner and adds momentum to trainer Cherie DeVaux's career. The Belmont's return to Belmont Park next year may also restore the race to its traditional home.
The article makes clear that Golden Tempo did not sweep the Triple Crown because it skipped the Preakness Stakes, so the biggest possible prize was out of reach. The shorter Belmont distance at Saratoga also means this result does not fully mirror the traditional test at Belmont Park.
