How to Bet the Belmont Stakes in 2026 (Horse Race Betting Explained)

The Belmont Stakes, the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, happens at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, on Saturday, June 6, with a post time of 7:04 p.m. ET. The Triple Crown began at Churchill Downs with the Kentucky Derby and continued through the Preakness Stakes, and now it wraps up at the "Test of the Champion." This is the third and final year the Belmont calls Saratoga home while Belmont Park finishes its renovation, so 2026 is your last chance to bet the race at this version of the Spa before it returns to a rebuilt Belmont Park in 2027.

There is an extra wrinkle worth knowing before you wager. Because Saratoga's main track is smaller than Belmont Park's, the 2026 Belmont Stakes is run at 1 1/4 miles rather than the traditional 1 1/2 miles. That is the same distance as the Kentucky Derby, which changes how the race is likely to be run and gives Derby form a little more weight than it carries in a normal Belmont year.

Even if you have never bet on a horse race before, FanDuel Research can help you learn how to bet on horse racing just in time for the Belmont. Keep on reading to find out how to become part of the action!

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!

New FanDuel Racing users are included in the excitement with a chance to Place your first bet of $10 on any race at any track & get $50 back in Racing Bonus!

How and Where to Bet on Horse Racing

You have already found the best place to bet on horse racing online: FanDuel! In states that offer sports betting, you can bet on horse racing in your FanDuel Sportsbook app, the same place where you can go to bet on other sports. Anywhere else, you can bet the races through FanDuel Racing.

FanDuel is the industry leader in sports betting. FanDuel offers access to a full variety of wagers, convenient deposit options, and the best customer service in the betting world.

Here are the simple steps to betting the Belmont at FanDuel:

1. Click here to visit the FanDuel Belmont Stakes betting site. This will direct you to the appropriate place to sign up based on what state you live in.
2. Click the Join Now button to sign up for FanDuel! By signing up, you automatically claim your Belmont bonus offer.
3. Fund your FanDuel account! It is easy: you can use a credit card, debit card, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, or online banking for the quickest transfer, or use other methods like PayNearMe, wire transfer, gift cards, Play+, or cash at the counter if you have a local FanDuel Sportsbook location.
4. Bet your horse in the Belmont.
5. Watch the Belmont, knowing you are part of the action by having a bet down on your horse!

Just in time for the big event, it is a good time to get to know the full range of betting options. Once you learn the available wagers, you will be able to make any of these bets on the Belmont, and when doing horse betting all year long through FanDuel!

Horse Racing Odds

It is important to know how to read horse racing odds, since they reflect the public's belief of what the chances of each horse winning are.

In American racing, odds are typically shown as a fraction: think 6-5, 7-2, or 5-1. This expresses how much you get back in winnings. This is the format you will see in the racing program, on the tote board, and on racing broadcasts on television.

For example, let's say you bet $2 on a horse in the Belmont. Their post-time odds are 10-1, and they win. Congratulations! You are going to get back $22: $20 because 10-1 odds mean you win ten times your betting stake, plus your original $2 betting stake.

Wagering on horse races is parimutuel betting. This means that the payout on each horse is based on the actual money wagered on each one, so the odds are not final until the race starts. You can always track the latest Belmont Stakes odds through the FanDuel website or app.

Betting horse racing is a game of information. In addition to watching race replays and reading past performances, following the odds can give you a lot of valuable data. It gives you an idea of which horses may be "hot on the board" (more heavily bet than expected, either based on the morning line or your own assessment) or "cold on the board" (less bet than expected), so you can think through why that may be the case. Following the odds can also lead you to an overlay: odds that pay better than your own assessment of the horse's true chance of winning.

Horse Racing Betting Options

In the Belmont at Saratoga, as well as in horse races all year long, you have a large range of options for how to play the race. It may seem complex at first if you are a beginner, but after playing a few races, the options will seem like second nature. It is a good idea to learn about all of your horse racing betting options. After all, you will have different opinions on different races, and knowing the right bet in any situation is the best way to turn your opinions into real money! If you get stuck on any of the language below, our horse betting terms glossary breaks it all down.

Straight Bets

Straight bets refer to the simplest, most classic horse racing bets: win, place, and show. These are bets you make on one horse.

On a win bet, a victory for your horse is a victory for you, simple as that. Traditionally, when discussing a horse's odds, these are the odds on a win bet. Win bets typically pay the most of any straight bets because they are the hardest to hit: you need the horse to finish first. Period.

Other straight bets can cash even if a horse does not win. A place bet pays off if a horse finishes first or second. For a show bet to cash, the horse must finish first, second, or third.

You can also bet a horse across the board. This means that you place the same amount of money on them to win, place, and show. If they win, all three bets cash. If they run second, the place and show bets cash. If they finish third, just the show portion hits.

Exotic Bets

Straight bets cover just one horse, but exotic bets allow you to bet on the performance of more than one horse. Typically, they pay more money when you win than straight bets do. However, they are also more difficult to hit.

There are two major bet types for exotics. Intra-race, or vertical, exotics involve betting on the finishing order of one race. You can also bet multi-race, or horizontal, exotic bets that require you to pick the winners of multiple races.

Intra-Race Exotics

If you have opinions on multiple horses in a race, intra-race exotics, or vertical exotics, can often be the right bet. The major kinds of intra-race exotics include:

• Exacta: Pick the first two horses in the correct order.
• Quinella: Pick the first two finishers, no exact order necessary.
• Trifecta: Pick the first three horses in the correct order.
• Superfecta: Pick the first four horses in the correct order.
• Super High Five: Pick the first five horses in the correct order.

Typically, bettors will bet more than one combination in a race. Common ways of covering multiple combinations include a box, key, or part-wheel.

In a box, you are covering all possible combinations of a group of horses finishing in the requisite spots. Be careful, though: the price can skyrocket quickly as you add more horses. A $1 exacta box with two horses is just $2. It is $6 for three horses, $12 for four, and $20 for five. A trifecta box cost can rise even more quickly: with a $1 base bet, it is $12 for three horses, $24 for four, and already $60 for five.

Another reason boxing may not be the best choice is that it puts equal weight on all combinations, and you may have a stronger opinion on a particular horse finishing in a particular spot. That is where keys and part-wheels come in.

In a key, you denote a single horse to finish in a particular place, betting a few other horses in the other spot or spots. You can key a horse in any spot. Keying a winner is most common, but it can be a good bet to key a horse in second place, especially if their past performances reveal that they finish second a lot.

In a part-wheel, you choose horses for each spot. For example, if you think that there are two horses who could possibly win, three who could finish second, and six who could finish third, you could do a trifecta part-wheel.

Multi-Race Exotics

If you are more comfortable choosing horses simply to win, or you have strong win opinions in consecutive races, go for a multi-race (or horizontal) exotic!

The simplest of these is a Daily Double: picking the winners of two consecutive races. They get longer and more difficult from there: Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, and Pick 6. Many tracks offer Daily Doubles and Pick 3s for any group of two or three consecutive races, called "rolling" Daily Doubles or Pick 3s, starting in the first race. The last rolling Daily Double starts in the second-to-last race, while the final rolling Pick 3 begins three races from the end.

Longer sequences are offered one or more times during the day, so make sure to check the racing program or FanDuel betting interface to see when those are offered. On days with major stakes races like the Belmont Stakes, tracks also often offer special wagers, including bets that link races across the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

Looking for our Belmont Stakes picks and predictions for 2026?

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.

New to FanDuel Racing? Place your first bet of $10 on any race at any track & get $50 back in Racing Bonus. See here for full terms and conditions. Learn about today’s other offers at FanDuel Racing Promos.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.