2025 Belmont Oaks Preview

Key Takeaways:

• Nitrogen enters as the division leader with dominant turf form and a versatile stalking style; even after an off-turf win, she remains the one to beat in her first try at 1 ⅛ miles.
• Fionn showed stamina and grit to win the Regret (G3) over this distance; she must overcome a pace setup that may not favor closers but has proven she can adapt.
• Opulent Restraint could wire the field as the likely pacesetter in a race lacking early speed; a repeat of her Memories of Silver effort makes her dangerous for Chad Brown.
• Totally Justified continues to improve and has the pedigree for this trip; her tactical speed gives her an edge in a race where many rivals need a quicker pace to shine.

The feature Saturday, July 5, at Saratoga is the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks, a 1 ⅛-mle turf race for the best sophomore fillies in the division. The race drew a competitive field of seven, including current divisional leader Nitrogen, Jessamine (G2) winner and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf runner-up May Day Ready, Regret (G3) winner Fionn, and more.

The Belmont Oaks is one of the newest traditions in horse racing. The race inherited its grade from an older race known as the Rare Perfume Stakes and the Garden City Breeders’ Cup Stakes, but was moved from September to July and renamed in 2014. It is usually run at 1 ¼ miles on the Belmont grass, but with that track under construction until fall 2026, the race was run at 1 3/16 miles last year at Aqueduct and now at 1 ⅛ miles at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Like the Belmont Derby, the Belmont Oaks is the beginning of a three-race series of turf races in New York. It continues with the Saratoga Oaks (G2) on August 9 at the Spa, and concludes in early autumn with the Jockey Club Oaks (G3), which will be run at Aqueduct this year due to the Belmont Park construction.

Winners of the Belmont Oaks have included some of the best turf fillies of recent times. Three straight Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winners went on to win the Belmont Oaks the next year: fan favorite Lady Eli (2015), Woodbine stakes namesake Catch a Glimpse (2016), and the precocious New Money Honey (2017). Santa Barbara (2021) went on to topple older in the Beverly D. (G1) at Arlington the month after winning the Belmont Oaks, and the durable McKulick (2022) won her Grade 1 in this spot.

2025 Belmont Oaks Information

• Race Date: Saturday, July 5
• Track: Saratoga Race Course
• Post Time: 6:13 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ⅛ miles on the turf
• Age/Sex: three-year-old fillies
• Where to Watch: FanDuel Racing
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2025 Belmont Oaks Draw and Odds

This is the field for the 2025 Belmont Oaks, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for the race.

2025 Belmont Oaks Prep Race Results

The seven runners in the Belmont Oaks come out of four different races. Two stakes each sent three runners to this spot, and one other comes out of allowance company.

Fionn broke through at the graded-stakes level May 31 in the Regret Stakes (G3) May 31 at Churchill Downs, trying 1 ⅛ miles for the first time. She rallied strongly from last to win by half a length over the more forwardly placed Totally Justified, who also lines up for the Belmont Oaks.

Nitrogen, who had beaten Fionn in the Appalachian (G2) at Keeneland in May, also comes into the race out of a stakes victory. Even though the Wonder Again (G3) at Saratoga on June 7 was washed out and run at a mile on the dirt, Nitrogen handled the sloppy footing beautifully, winning by 17 lengths. May Day Ready did not relish the slop, and finished a well-beaten third.

Two have freshened since the Memories of Silver on April 27 at Aqueduct. Though winner Laurelin does not contest the Belmont Oaks—she returned a winner June 27 in the Penn Oaks—second-place Opulent Restraint and third-place Virgin Colada come back in this spot.

The only one coming from a non-stakes race is rail-drawn Warming. She stretched out to two turns for the first time in a 1 1/16-mile first-level allowance June 13 at Delaware, a race in which she rallied furiously late to win by a neck.

2025 Belmont Oaks Contenders

These are the seven Belmont Oaks contenders, in order of their post positions:

1. Warming: The least experienced horse in the field, Warming has class to prove. She graduated sprinting six furlongs on the grass at Aqueduct on debut last June, spelled for almost a year, and came back in the Take the A Train Stakes over the same course and distance in May. She finished fifth, but was beaten only three-quarters of a length for top honors. She stretched out to two turns the next month for an allowance in Delaware, getting up to win by a neck despite being eighth with a furlong to go. That suggests that, even on the stretch out, she is a deep closer—meaning she needs someone to really take it to Opulent Restraint early, which may not happen.
2. Opulent Restraint: She set the pace in the Memories of Silver last out and just missed to the undefeated Laurelin, a solid effort, in her last start. This Chad Brown trainee seems to need a lot of time between starts, but if she returns in the same form as she had last out, she fits. The pace could suit her very well – there is not a lot of speed in this race, and she shapes as the most likely to set the pace. She was no match for Nitrogen two back in the Florida Oaks (G3), but that was back in March, and if she has matured, she could be a tougher contender with this pace advantage.
3. Totally Justified: She comes out of a close second in the Regret behind Fiona, who she will have to face again in this spot. She’ll also have to face the likes of Nitrogen and May Day Ready, who she keeps clashing with and also finishing short behind. Her last race was her best yet, though, and given that it was her first time stretching out to 1 ⅛ miles and her pedigree is so distance-oriented (she is by Justify out of a full sister to Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Magician), that bodes well. Her tactical speed is also an asset. In short, do not take chalk, but she has upside.
4. Virgin Colada: She was a buzz horse for Chad Brown off of a two-turn debut maiden win at Saratoga, but has yet to win again in four more starts. She hasn’t been bad … she has hit the board in three of those four starts, all in stakes, with her only no-show being a troubled outing at the Breeders’ Cup. But, she’ll be overbet because of her trainer, and her late-running style may not get much of a setup.
5. Fionn: She has never run poorly in six starts, winning four times and hitting the board in her two others. She didn’t get all the way there against Nitrogen two back in the Appalachian, meaning she has tables to turn. But, the stretch out to 1 ⅛ miles for the Regret put her back into winning form. The question for her is pace, since she is a closer and there is not a surfeit of speed in this race. But, looking earlier in her career, she has been able to make a winning run in races without a fast pace, so she should be running at least credibly late under Flavien Prat.
6. May Day Ready: She was one of the best grass fillies of last year’s juvenile class, running a good second behind top-class European Lake Victoria in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. A trip to Japan late last year didn’t go as well as hoped, though. And then her three-year-old debut got washed to the dirt—she was well beaten, but all we learned was that she hated mud. Now she gets back to the grass, and her pedigree suggests she can handle this distance. She is one who may be pace-compromised, though—her most impressive races have come when she had a fast pace to chase, and that seems unlikely.
7. Nitrogen: She splashed home last out like a proper dirt horse when the Wonder Again (G3) got washed off, but every other race of her career has shown she is a proper turf horse, too, the best of this three-year-old class so far. Finishing her juvenile year, a maiden didn’t stop her from becoming multiple Grade 1 placed or from bagging a Sovereign Award for top Canadian juvenile filly. She probably will not be right on the pace, but she reliably stalks the pace and can win whether the pace is sluggish or quick. And, even though it is her first try at 1 ⅛ miles, she is bred for the stretch out. In short, she is the horse to beat.

2025 Belmont Oaks FAQ

Q: When is the 2025 Belmont Oaks?

A: Saturday, July 5, 2025, at 6:13 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Q: Where is the 2025 Belmont Oaks?

A: In 2025, the Belmont Oaks will be run at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is usually run at Belmont Park, which is under construction. It will return to the renovated park in Elmont once NYRA finishes construction.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Belmont Oaks?

A: Since the old Garden City Stakes was recast as the Belmont Oaks in 2014, Chad Brown leads with four victories. He can extend his record to five if either Opulent Restraint or Virgin Colada wins this year.

Q: Who is the favorite for the 2025 Belmont Oaks?

A: Nitrogen carries a five-win streak into the Belmont Oaks, including four on the grass, all in stakes company. On the strength of this, she has been named the 4-5 morning-line favorite and should hold that status through post time.

Q: Who is the best Belmont Oaks jockey?

A: Three jockeys have won the Belmont Oaks twice each. Javier Castellano won with New Money Honey (2017) and Magic Attitude (2020), Ryan Moore won with Athena (2018) and Santa Barbara (2021), and Irad Ortiz, Jr. won with Lady Eli (2015) and McKulick (2022). Among them, only Ortiz rides this year; he takes the call on Virgin Colada for Chad Brown, who also trained his two previous Belmont Oaks winners.

Q: Who won the Belmont Oaks in 2024?

A: Cinderella’s Dream won the 2024 Belmont Oaks for trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick. Neither return for the 2025 edition.

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