The third and final jewel of the Triple Crown happens Saturday, June 7: the Belmont Stakes! Like in 2024, the race will be run at 1 ¼ miles at Saratoga – its usual home of Belmont Park is under construction, and the race will return there in 2026. Even so, the race is a test of stamina, it offers a $2 million purse, and it drew eight of the best three-year-olds in the country.
The field for the Belmont includes Sovereignty, Journalism, and Baeza – the first three horses across the wire in the Kentucky Derby. Journalism also returned in the Preakness, winning in heroic fashion.
It’s also a lucrative opportunity for you. Betting the Belmont Stakes is the best way to be a part of the action, and anyone who solves the handicapping puzzle can score big!
Here are the odds on the 2025 Belmont Stakes contenders at the top of the market on the best online sports betting sites:
 |  |  |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Journalism | +160 | +185 | +175 |
| Sovereignty | +200 | +175 | +200 |
| Baeza | +450 | +400 | +425 |
| Rodriguez | +500 | +500 | +525 |
| Hill Road | +1000 | +1600 | +1200 |
As exciting as going to Saratoga would be, we can’t all get there. The good news is, you can be part of the action from anywhere with an internet connection. All of the best online sportsbooks allow you to play the Belmont Stakes – as well as racing and sports all year long – from your smartphone, tablet, or computer without waiting in line!
All of our recommended online sportsbooks have the foundations of a great experience: real Vegas odds, great user interfaces, and trusted payouts. They also offer lucrative betting bonuses like deposit and sign-up bonuses, referral benefits, and horse racing rebates all year long!
Our expert reviews will make it easy for you to maximize your Belmont Stakes betting profits.
This is the official field for the 2025 Belmont Stakes including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning line odds:
The morning line can be a good guide to which horses will likely take money or be long shots, but the odds are no guarantee of a price on track. The price on track will fluctuate all the way until post time, leaving you vulnerable to a late shortening.
Your best bet for the 2025 Belmont Stakes is to bet online. Since online sportsbooks offer fixed-odds wagering on major events, you can lock in the best odds right when you place your bet, and then know exactly the price you’ll get when your horse wins the race.
With the Belmont Stakes still at Saratoga, handicapping will be a bit different. Most of the horses still have not tried the distance, since they didn’t all run in the Kentucky Derby. However, anyone who ran in the Derby will come in with some 1 ¼-mile form. Even so, it’s just one race, and trips can be messy due to the large Derby field. So, distance pedigree still matters.
It’s also worth it to look at who has local form. Many horses with high expectations race in maiden races and even stakes at Saratoga as juveniles, so some may have local form. It is not a perfect indicator since these horses have had so much time to mature since last summer, but if a horse ran uncommonly well or uncommonly poorly there, it can be useful.
The top selection in the 2025 Belmont Stakes is Baeza. He was third in the Kentucky Derby behind Sovereignty and Journalism, but there are reasons he can turn the tables. It’s not just his distance pedigree, though that’s unassailable: he is a McKinzie half-brother to both Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch, meaning this was what he was bred for.
But, furthermore, there are reasons he can get a better trip. In the Kentucky Derby, he had to break from the far outside since he got in off the also-eligibles. Then, as he was making his run, he got snarled in traffic. Even so, he found enough to run with great energy down the lane, almost catching Journalism for the place.
This time, Baeza breaks from a good middle gate in a smaller field, lessening the chance for trouble. He is tactically versatile enough to get a spot wherever big-race rider Flavien Prat wants to put him, and if he brings his best he can turn the tables at an appealing price.
Of course, the top two horses from the Kentucky Derby, Sovereignty and Journalism, figure strongly in the Belmont. Both of them have shown their stamina and their ability to handle a wet track, which is possible Saturday at Saratoga. Both are also very consistent horses who just keep showing up.
Between the two it’s Sovereignty who appeals more. Trainer Bill Mott bypassed the Preakness, giving him five weeks before the Belmont; given Mott’s cautious reputation, that doesn’t read as a sign of trouble, but rather a sign of giving him the best chance to win. And, though Journalism will likely be positioned ahead of him, that was the case in the Derby as well, and Sovereignty finished that little bit better.
That said, Journalism figures as well. Speaking of cautious trainers, Michael McCarthy waited until just before the draw for the Belmont to declare all systems go, which feels like the right balance between thinking through and knowing he’s ready – he did something similar for the Preakness. Especially if the pace does not shape up to be super hot, Journalism’s positioning makes him live. And, his consistency makes him a threat for a piece no matter what.
Crudo steps into graded company for the first time in the Belmont. It’s a step up in class…and the pace is a question for him, too, since Rodriguez and he both show a lot of pace. But, Crudo has the most upside. With only three starts, he will not only be a bigger price than Rodriguez, but hasn’t had as much chance to show his limitations.
After all, Rodriguez has shown in two-turn races, in stakes races, that he’s not the same without the lead. Crudo…though his wins have come on the lead and his loss came when he didn’t get it? That loss came in a sprint where he started poorly, and it was also his debut. Two turns is where he’s meant to be anyway, and with some more seasoning he could either just outjump Rodriguez or press him outside and make the first move at a big price.
You know the best place to bet the Belmont Stakes, and you know the best horses in the field. Now, there is only one thing left to do, and it’s the best part of all: placing your bet!
These are the expert bets for the 2025 Belmont Stakes.
About the Author
For a decade, Rowan Ward has been making horse race predictions and wagers in Chicago, and has been writing about horse racing for nearly just as long. Understanding the various factors that influence a race's outcome, they often find that the age-old saying "the pace makes the race" can uncover worthwhile betting opportunities. When it comes to handicapping, their favorite races are those held locally in Chicago, major stake races across the country, and two-year-old maiden races with intriguing bloodlines.
Read Rowan's ProfileAsk Rowan about this guide:
