By Dornoch hit it out of the park.
The 17-1 long shot won Saturday’s 156th running of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Luis Saez, who was aboard Dornoch, controlled the pace against a strong 10-horse field that included Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan and Preakness winner Seize the Grey for his second career Belmont Stakes victory. It was the first for trainer Danny Gargan and co-owner Jayson Werth, a former Major League Baseball All-Star.
Dornoch hugged the rail to hold off Mindframe, who went off at 5-1, and Sierra Leone, the favorite at 8-5, who finished second and third, respectfully. Honor Marie was fourth.
“I would put it right up there with winning on the biggest stage,” said Werth, who won a World Series title with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008, after the race on Fox. “Horse racing is one of the most underrated sports in the world, bar none. … We just won the Belmont.
“This is as good as it gets in horse racing and is good as it gets in sports.”
This is the sixth straight year a different horse won each of the Triple Crown races − the longest stretch since 1924-29.
Traditionally held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, the famed track’s meet was relocated to the iconic Saratoga Race Course due to a $455 million renovation at Belmont Park.
The distance of the race was also different than the norm. This year’s race was 1¼ mile, shorter than the traditional 1½. It was shortened to 1¼ miles – the same distance as the Kentucky Derby – because the shape of the track at Saratoga Race Course made it implausible to run it at 1½ miles. When the race returns to Belmont in 2026, it is then expected to go back to being a 1½-mile race.
