2026 Belmont Stakes Jockeys: 3 Triple Crown Riders You Need to Know

The final race of the 2026 Triple Crown series is upon us: the Belmont Stakes happens Saturday, June 6, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Post time is scheduled for 7:04 p.m. EDT.

For the third straight year, the $2 million final leg of the Triple Crown will cover 1 ¼ miles on the Saratoga dirt track while renovations at Belmont continue. The new Belmont Park is expected to open for the fall meet in September, and the Belmont Stakes will return to its traditional 1 ½-mile trip over Big Sandy next year.

A field of nine horses will line up for Saturday’s race. The leading contenders all come out of the Kentucky Derby: winner Golden Tempo, runner-up Renegade, fourth-place Chief Wallabee, Commandment, and Emerging Market. Though none of the runners from the Preakness Stakes come back in three weeks to contest the Belmont, four up-and-comers are slated to try their class against the Kentucky Derby set. That group of new shooters is led by Peter Pan Stakes (G3) winner Growth Equity.

Getting to know the horses is important, but it’s also important to get to know the jockeys. After all, the jockey is the one with control over strategy while the race is going on. Whether the jockey has gotten to know the horse in previous races can be important, as is the amount of experience the jockey has over the local racecourse, and the level of experience the jockey has in major races like the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, and other Grade 1 races. Knowing about the jockeys and their backgrounds can give you the edge while betting the Belmont Stakes.

Get ready to bet on the Belmont Stakes winner with FanDuel Racing. Explore the exciting 2026 Belmont promos available on FDR. Stay updated on the Belmont Stakes odds as we approach The Test of the Champion!

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Belmont Stakes Field: Post Positions, Jockeys, Odds, and More

This is the official field for the 2026 Belmont Stakes, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for each horse.

Belmont Stakes Jockeys

These are three jockeys to watch in the 2026 Belmont Stakes. Some of them are notable for their experience, others more for their recent form in the race. But, either way, their presence is a positive factor for the horses who they have been assigned to ride, and they always demand respect whenever they get in the saddle.

Luis Saez: Post 2, Powershift (12-1)

Luis Saez takes the call on Todd Pletcher trainee Powershift for the first time in the Belmont Stakes. Though he has yet to ride Powershift on race day, the son of Constitution has shown early pace in a pair of previous races under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. Though Ortiz is riding favored stablemate Renegade, Luis Saez is an aggressive enough rider that he should be an excellent fit in the final jewel of the Triple Crown.

Saez has become a fixture at the upper level of American racing. Raised in Panama, he has been riding in the United States since 2009. He is consistently near the top of the riding standings: he has ranked in the top 10 in earnings every year since 2017 and in wins every year since 2017. He has 47 victories at the top level, most recently on the Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill Downs when Shred the Gnar won the La Troienne (G1).

Saez has ridden in the Belmont Stakes eight times. He has two wins in the race, both of which have come in the current decade. The first came in 2021 with Essential Quality, the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite who came back with a vengeance five weeks later. Saez also won the Belmont in 2024, its first visit to Saratoga, with frontrunning longshot Dornoch. He has hit the board one other time, when he rode Tapit Trice to a third-place finish in 2023.

The Belmont Stakes is the only Triple Crown race Saez has yet won. In the Kentucky Derby, he has hit the board once in 13 starts, when Essential Quality placed third in 2021. He did cross the wire first in 2017 with Maximum Security, but was disqualified for interference on the far turn. In 2026, he was a troubled seventh with Commandment. In five Preakness rides, Saez has finished second twice, both times with price horses: Bravazo finished second in 2018 behind Triple Crown winner Justify, and Gosger was just nabbed late by Journalism in 2025. This year, he finished seventh with The Hell We Did.

Irad Ortiz, Jr.: Post 4, Renegade (2-1)

Irad Ortiz, Jr. is the regular rider of Belmont Stakes morning-line favorite Renegade. He was in the saddle for his third-place debut at Saratoga last summer. Though he did not have the call in the maiden race last October when he was disqualified behind Paladin (John Velazquez rode that day), Ortiz has been in the irons for each of his next four starts.

Though Renegade lost on the square to Paladin in the Remsen (G2), the horse has trained on beautifully at age three, and Ortiz has been right there to guide his ascent. He began the year with a 3 ¾-length maiden-breaking score in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, then won the Arkansas Derby (G1) more impressively seven weeks later, rallying from last to win by four lengths. Renegade’s best work yet this year came in defeat in the Kentucky Derby: he and Ortiz overcame a rough trip from the rail draw, maintained momentum, and was outfinished by just a neck by Golden Tempo.

Ortiz has been one of the most prominent jockeys in the world in recent years, and a fixture in the most important races. He has only been riding since 2011, but has already racked up five Eclipse Awards for outstanding jockey, as well as 117 Grade 1 wins, most recently with Rhetorical in the Turf Classic (G1), one race before the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Though Ortiz has yet to win the Kentucky Derby, his race with Renegade this year was a breakthrough effort. After missing the board with his first nine Kentucky Derby mounts, he came within a neck of winning the roses this year with Renegade despite a bad post. In seven Preakness Stakes rides, he has been second twice, with Midnight Bourbon in 2021 and Blazing Sevens in 2023. He rode Talkin for Danny Gargan this year, finishing 12th of 14.

Ortiz has starred in the Belmont Stakes. He has ridden in the race 12 times, and has two victories to show for it: with long shot Creator in 2016 and favored Mo Donegal in 2022. Just like Renegade, Mo Donegal was a Todd Pletcher trainee who bounced back from a rail draw in the Kentucky Derby. He also finished second in the Belmont with Dr Post in 2020, Forte in 2023, and Mindframe in 2024. His most recent Belmont Stakes ride was in 2025, where he finished fifth with Hill Road.

Flavien Prat: Post 6, Emerging Market (6-1)

Flavien Prat has been Emerging Market’s only rider. On debut in a maiden special weight route on the Tampa Bay Downs dirt, Prat settled him midpack in the field of nine before getting him going in the lane and outfinishing fellow Belmont entrant Powershift to win by three quarters of a length. That earned Emerging Market a ticket to the Louisiana Derby (G2) on March 21, where Prat once again produced him from midpack, getting him up to win by a head over Pavlovian – and a length over Golden Tempo. Prat rode Emerging Market in the Kentucky Derby as well, where he raced perhaps a bit too close to a torrid pace and flattened to tenth.

Though Emerging Market still has experience questions leading into the Belmont Stakes, with only three starts behind him, he could not possibly be in better hands leading into one of the biggest races of his career.

Prat started his career in France and has risen to become one of the top riders in North America during over a decade of riding regularly in the United States. After a steady rise, he put his name in the record books in 2024, setting new North American records for most stakes wins and most graded-stakes wins in a year. He earned his first Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey after that season, and then earned another in 2025 after another top-class year.

The Belmont Stakes is the only Triple Crown race that Prat has yet to win, but he has never missed the superfecta in five tries. In 2021, his first year riding in the race, he guided Hot Rod Charlie to a second-place finish behind Essential Quality. He was third in 2024 with Sierra Leone and again in 2025 with Baeza, and also fourth in 2022 with We the People and 2023 with Angel of Empire.

He has won each of the other three-year-old classics once. He won the 2019 Kentucky Derby with 65-1 long shot Country House. He has hit the superfecta with seven of his nine Derby rides, a testament to his consistency. Prat had a Preakness winner the first time he ever rode in the race, guiding Rombauer to score in 2021. He has finished in the superfecta with each of his other three mounts as well: he was second with Iron Honor this year, third with Catching Freedom in 2024, and fourth with Goal Oriented in 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions: 2026 Belmont Stakes

Who is the morning line favorite for the 2026 Belmont Stakes?

Renegade, trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., is the 2-1 morning line favorite for the 2026 Belmont Stakes. Renegade draws from post position 4 in the 9-horse field. Chief Wallabee, also trained by a top conditioner and ridden by Junior Alvarado out of post 3, is the second choice at 3-1, followed by Golden Tempo at 9-2. You can bet on the Belmont Stakes morning line favorite and the full field at FanDuel Racing.

When and where is the 2026 Belmont Stakes and what time is post time?

The 158th running of the Belmont Stakes takes place on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Post time for The Test of the Champion is 7:04 p.m. ET. This is the third and final year the race will be held at Saratoga while Belmont Park undergoes a full reconstruction project. The race is contested at 1¼ miles due to the configuration of Saratoga's main track, shorter than the traditional 1½-mile distance at Belmont Park. The Belmont Stakes will return to a newly reimagined Belmont Park beginning in 2027. New FanDuel Racing users can place their first bet of $10 and get $50 back in Racing Bonus ahead of race day.

How can I bet on the 2026 Belmont Stakes and are there any promotions available?

You can bet on the 2026 Belmont Stakes winner and all associated wagering markets at FanDuel Racing. Belmont Stakes odds are available across win, place, show, exacta, trifecta, and superfecta markets. New FanDuel Racing users can take advantage of a promotional offer where you place your first bet of $10 on any race at any track and receive $50 back in Racing Bonus. Additional 2026 Belmont Stakes promos are available on FanDuel Racing. The full morning line odds for all 9 horses, including the 2-1 favorite Renegade and longshots Vitruvian Man at 30-1 and Ottinho at 20-1 — are listed above. Stay updated on live Belmont Stakes odds (fanduel.com/belmont-stakes-odds) as they shift ahead of the Saturday, June 6 post time.

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