Sovereignty closed horse racing’s 2025 Triple Crown season with a win in the 157th running of the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday night at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Contested at a shortened distance of 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga, in comparison to the traditional distance of 1 1/2 miles when the race is normally run at Belmont Park, Sovereignty followed up his triumph in last month’s Kentucky Derby with a win in the Belmont Stakes over a fast main track.

Sovereignty is the first horse to win both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes since 2018.

In winning the Belmont Stakes from post position No. 2, Sovereignty also became the first horse to win both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, but not the Preakness Stakes, since Thunder Gulch in 1995. This double was achieved after Sovereignty’s connections controversially opted to skip the Preakness Stakes, the middle race of the Triple Crown.

Journalism — the pre-race and post time favorite who previously finished second in the Kentucky Derby and won the Preakness Stakes — finished second in the Belmont. Baeza, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby, also ran third in the Belmont.

Bob Baffert’s Rodriguez was fourth in the Belmont.

Once again, there’s no Triple Crown winning horse in 2025

It’s been known for some time now, but horse racing’s 2025 Triple Crown season has now officially come and gone without a horse winning all three classics.

Sovereignty claimed the Kentucky Derby on May 3 and Journalism won the Preakness Stakes on May 17, before Sovereignty returned to capture the Belmont Stakes on Saturday night.

As such, the last Triple Crown-winning horse remains Justify in 2018.

A total of 13 horses have won all three classic races in the same year: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978), American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018).

More Triple Crown changes are coming in 2026

Saturday’s Belmont Stakes was the second consecutive edition of the race to take place at a different distance and at a different location than normal.

Both the 2024 and 2025 editions of the Belmont have been contested at a distance of 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga. This differs from the traditional distance of 1 1/2 miles when the race is run at Belmont Park, which remains closed due to ongoing renovations.

According to the Times Union newspaper in New York, the Belmont is likely to be run again in 2026 at Saratoga. The construction timeline for Belmont Park still calls for the project to be completed in September 2026, which would be several months after the Belmont’s early June race date.

A New York Racing Association official said the location for the 2026 Belmont Stakes will be finalized and announced in the coming weeks.

Aside from a return to Saratoga for a third straight year, the other option on the table would be holding next year’s Belmont Stakes at a partially completed Belmont Park. The 2027 Breeders’ Cup has already been awarded to Belmont Park. The 2026 Breeders’ Cup will be returning to Central Kentucky and will be held at Keeneland.

This means two of the three Triple Crown races in 2026 could be run at alternate locations.

The Kentucky Derby isn’t going anywhere. The Run for the Roses will still be held at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

But, next year’s Preakness Stakes is expected to be run at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., while Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore is rebuilt.

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