Belmont Stakes: Battle of the champions in Triple Crown’s third leg

There may be no Triple Crown at stake this year, but the stage is set for two champions to battle it out in this year’s Belmont Stakes.

The winner of both the Kentucky Derby, Sovereignty, and the reigning Preakness Stakes champion, Journalism, are both set to take part in the final leg of this year’s Triple Crown.

In many ways, it will be a rematch of this year’s Kentucky Derby, where Sovereignty held off the challenge of pre-race favorite Journalism to write his name in the history books of the “most exciting two minutes in sports.”

The decision was made by Sovereignty’s owners to then skip the Preakness, a race Journalism managed to win, in order to focus on this weekend’s Belmont Stakes.

So who is this year’s favorite and what can you expect from the final leg of this year’s Triple Crown?

How to watch?

The 157th running of the Belmont Stakes will once again be held at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, with a share of $2 million up for grabs.

Those without a ticket can watch the action live on FOX and FS1, with the race set to get underway at 7:04 p.m. ET on Saturday. If you want to watch online, the race can be streamed on the FOX Sports app.

Kentucky Derby rematch

The final stretch of this year’s Kentucky Derby might well be the perfect preview for the Belmont Stakes, with both Journalism and Sovereignty going head to head in a sprint finish.

The pair came off the final bend together, with Journalism initially taking the lead. But Sovereignty looked more comfortable on the wet track and powered past his rival to take the win by a length and a half.

The following day, though, Sovereignty’s trainer Bill Mott said the horse had a scrape on his right front pastern, which is above the hoof.

Mott said it likely was from clipping heels with another horse when exiting the gate and the decision was in the following days to rest Sovereignty for the Preakness – ending dreams of a first Triple Crown since 2018.

It meant Journalism was once again favorite for the “middle jewel” and managed to grab the win from the jaws of defeat at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

Journalism, ridden by Umberto Rispoli and trained by Michael McCarthy, appeared to hit a dead-end as he tried to find a way past fading horses on the final stretch and was then severely bumped as he tried to sneak through a gap.

Despite being hampered in the run-in, Journalism regained some momentum and raced past the runaway leader Gosger just before crossing the line.

“In the back of mind, I thought we’d be two for two here, but you know what, just happy to get one of these. They are very, very difficult races to win,” McCarthy said after the Preakness.

Journalism favorite again

Attention has now turned to Saratoga Race Course for a second showdown between the two.

Journalism is the favorite to win, according to the most recent odds, but Sovereignty isn’t too far away in the bookmakers’ estimations.

“He’s been kind of the same horse since July of last summer,” trainer McCarthy said about Journalism in the buildup to this year’s Belmont.

“He does everything you’d ask a good horse to do: he eats well, trains well, acts well. I thought through the last six, seven weeks here, his energy’s been the same throughout.”

It is also worth keeping an eye on Baeza who finished third in the Kentucky Derby and might have improved on that finish had the race had continued for a little longer.

Sovereignty trainer Mott said he’s aware that anyone from the field of eight could pose a threat.

“He’s improved, as I think as many of these horses have,” Mott said of his own horse.

“I think this entire group, if you look at their form and the way they’ve developed over the course of this year, I think they’ve made steady progress and it should be an interesting race.”