Trainer Bill Mott and the rest of Sovereignty's team bypassed a shot at the Triple Crown by sitting out this year's Preakness Stakes. It was an unpopular decision, but they did so with their sights set on the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes. Well, the time has come, and the 2025 Kentucky Derby winner is set to return from a brief hiatus, well-rested and ready to go.
As we've become accustomed to seeing at "The Test of the Champion," there's a lot on the line. Sovereignty is prepared to compete against an intriguing list of horses, including a decisive third jewel battle with Journalism. Below is a complete catalog of participants featured in the highly anticipated race.
Every horse in the 2025 Belmont Stakes with post numbers
Post Number | Horse | Jockey |
|---|---|---|
1 | Hill Road | Irad Ortiz, Jr. |
2 | Sovereignty | Junior Alvarado |
3 | Rodriguez | Mike Smith |
4 | Uncaged | Luis Saez |
5 | Crudo | John Velazquez |
6 | Baeza | Flavien Prat |
7 | Journalism | Umberto Rispoli |
8 | Heart of Honor | Saffie Osborne |
Journalism capitalized on Sovereignty's absence and claimed the Run for the Black-Eyed Susans. But now, jockey Umberto Rispoli and the former have a prime opportunity to settle the score versus Sovereignty, an accomplished, high-level thoroughbred. However, other ponies like Baeza and Hill Road shouldn't be overlooked.
Baeza comes in with the third-shortest odds to secure a Belmont victory, behind Journalism and Sovereignty, respectively. The California-based three-year-old colt's dam is Puca, who's also the mother of 2023 Kentucky Derby champion Mage and the reigning Belmont Stakes winner, Dornoch. His strong genetics could prove to be a difference in the third leg of the Triple Crown.
While Hill Road is considered a long shot, a favorable draw makes him a potential sleeper. He's starting from the No. 1 hole, where 20.3 percent of Belmont Stakes victors begin -- far more than the next-closest post position (No. 3). While history is generally on his side, the last winner from the first hole was Justify in 2018.
After missing both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, Crudo is running his first race since the 2025 Sir Barton Stakes, which he won. His name translates to "raw" in Italian, which is a fitting name for a colt partially owned by the Food Network's Bobby Flay.
Sovereignty and Journalism are neck-and-neck favorites above the rest of the pack, indicating that an epic showdown between them is in store. The latter holds the slightest of edges in the eyes of oddsmakers. Nonetheless, whoever prevails (if either) will have the ultimate bragging rights.