Belmont Repeat Champion
Golden Tempo Wins 2026 Belmont Stakes Again, Securing Victory with Another Late Comeback
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Golden Tempo won the 158th Belmont Stakes on June 6, 2026, at Saratoga Race Course, giving the Kentucky Derby champion a 2-for-2 record in the biggest races of the year. The bay colt overcame a stumble at the start and surged late to win by 1¼ lengths, finishing 1¼ miles in 2:03.49 NY Post.
The victory made Golden Tempo the second straight Derby winner to skip the Preakness and then capture the Belmont, following Sovereignty's identical path in 2025 AP via Yahoo Sports.
A Stumble at the Start, Then a Stunning Surge
Golden Tempo broke poorly from the gate, stumbling as the 9-horse field launched down the Saratoga stretch. Most horses don't recover from that kind of start. This one did. Jockey Jose Ortiz kept the colt calm and began his run earlier than expected, a tactic made possible by blinkers trainer Cherie DeVaux added before the Kentucky Derby Heavy Sports via Yahoo Sports.
In the final furlong, Golden Tempo exploded past the field. Commandment finished second at 6-1 odds. Renegade — the Belmont favorite at 2-1 — faded to third. Golden Tempo's career earnings now exceed $3.4 million NY Post.
Trainer Cherie DeVaux Makes Racing History Again
DeVaux became the first woman to win two different Triple Crown races. She was already the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner. After the Belmont, she kept it simple. "Golden Tempo is amazing... amazing feeling," she told reporters, per NY Post.
Ortiz also hit a personal milestone. The Belmont win completed his own Triple Crown — he had won the Preakness in 2022 and the Belmont in 2017. He said the horse had grown mentally since Churchill Downs. "He's changed profoundly... he acts really confident," Ortiz said Yahoo Sports.
Why Golden Tempo Skipped the Preakness — And Why It Worked
On May 6, DeVaux announced Golden Tempo would skip the Preakness Stakes, just four days after the Derby win. Owner Daisy Phipps Pulito backed the call, saying the priority was "doing what is right for the horse." Napoleon Solo won the Preakness on May 16 while Golden Tempo rested at Keeneland NY Post.
The strategy paid off. Because the Belmont was held at Saratoga for the third straight year — Belmont Park is being rebuilt in a $455 million project — the race ran at 1¼ miles, not the usual 1½. That distance matched the Kentucky Derby exactly, suiting Golden Tempo's closing style Yahoo Sports.
A Trend That's Reshaping the Triple Crown's Future
Three of the last five Kentucky Derby winners have skipped the Preakness. That pattern is fueling a serious debate about whether the Triple Crown schedule needs to change. Critics argue the skips "hurt the integrity of the sport." Supporters say modern horses simply aren't built for three big races in five weeks NY Post.
DeVaux put it plainly: "He's not that kind of a horse." Golden Tempo is now the heavy favorite for the Travers Stakes on August 29 at Saratoga. A win there would almost certainly lock up 3-Year-Old of the Year honors — and add another chapter to an already remarkable season Yahoo Sports.
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