'Two Great Horses': Déjà Vu In Belmont Stakes As Sovereignty Defeats Journalism Again

It was déjà vu all over again in the 2025 Belmont Stakes. With better trips for each of the top three finishers from the Kentucky Derby five weeks ago, it was, once again, all Sovereignty in the final sixteenth of a mile. The Godolphin homebred by Into Mischief prevailed by about three lengths over Preakness winner Journalism, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his second winner in the third leg of the Triple Crown.

Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Baeza also checked in third once again in the Belmont.

"We had a repeat of the Derby," Mott told FOX. "I think what it means is it's for real. They're three really good horses, and I'm glad that [Sovereignty] was able to come back and put in a race like he did in the Derby."

Sovereignty (5-2) and Journalism (2-1) hooked up briefly at the head of the stretch; the Preakness winner and Umberto Rispoli got first run on the frontrunning Rodriguez and took command at the head of the lane, but Sovereignty and Alvarado had a big head of steam and rolled on by. Sovereignty completed 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.69 over a Saratoga main track rated fast.

"It's about two great horses," Alvarado told FOX. "That horse [Journalism] ran amazing again for coming back after the Preakness. He fought very hard, but he didn't make it easy for my horse.

"It's surreal to be honest. There was a point in my career, I think probably, four or five years ago when I kind of saw everything fading away, to be honest. And now here I am. It's unbelievable."

Sovereignty became the first horse to intentionally skip the Preakness and come back to win the Belmont Stakes, capturing two-thirds of the Triple Crown.

"It's the most fantastic feeling in the world," said Godolphin's Michael Banahan. "The horse was trained to the minute by Bill and his team, to come in here off the five weeks."

"It's really special," echoed Mott. "I'm on a cloud, I feel great. I'm glad the rain stopped, I'm glad we had a cleanly-run race. The horse proved himself."

The last time the top three finishers in the Kentucky Derby all lined up in the Belmont Stakes was 2013, and the race certainly delivered on the hype despite a bit too much rain in upstate New York.

NYRA's Glen Kozak, senior vice president of operations and capital projects, told FOX that Saratoga Springs, N.Y., got 2.26 inches of rain over a 24-hour period. It resulted in all races coming off the turf for Saturday at Saratoga, and the G1 Jaipur and G1 Manhattan were postponed until the end of Sunday's card over concerns about the condition of the turf course.

Nonetheless, when the rain stopped in early afternoon, the NYRA track crew worked their magic and the main track was dry and fast by post time for the Belmont Stakes.

As expected, Rodriguez went right to the front out of the gate, and Crudo kept him company early on. Down the backstretch, Sovereignty and Journalism lined up neck-and-neck behind the two leaders, looking one another in the eye after fractions of :23.42 and :47.60.

Entering the far turn, Journalism went three-wide and got first run on the leading Rodriguez, taking command at the head of the lane. Alvarado and Sovereignty were tracking the Preakness winner, and angled out to the middle of the Saratoga course for the stretch run.

Though Journalism gamely tried to stay with Sovereignty for several strides, the Kentucky Derby winner had too much left in the tank after the five-week break and was able to put away Journalism with a powerful late kick. At the wire, Sovereignty was about three lengths ahead of Journalism, with Baeza closing late once again to finish third. Rodriguez held on to finish fourth.

A homebred for Godolphin, Sovereignty is out of the unraced Bernardini mare Crowned, herself a daughter of the Grade 1-winning millionaire racemare Mushka, also trained by Bill Mott. Sovereignty broke his maiden at Churchill Downs last November in the G3 Street Sense Stakes, then won his 3-year-old debut in the G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream.

With regular rider Junior Alvarado out with injury for the next race, the G1 Florida Derby, Sovereignty was defeated by Tappan Street (who was ultimately scratched from the Kentucky Derby with injury). Alvarado returned to the saddle in time for the Kentucky Derby, and Sovereignty was able to prevail over a sloppy track on the first Saturday in May.

The strapping dark bay has now won four of his seven lifetime starts for earnings of over $4.5 million.

The G1 Belmont, which carries a $2 million purse, was run for the second consecutive year at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York while Belmont Park is being renovated. The Belmont, traditionally run as the 1 1/2-mile “test of the champion,” has been shortened to the Kentucky Derby distance of 1 1/4 miles while at Saratoga because of the configuration of the racetrack.

The Belmont may be run again at Saratoga next year as construction at Belmont is not expected to be completed until the fall of 2026.