Renegade (2-1) Favored in Field of 9 for Belmont Stakes

The 2026 Triple Crown started with grade 1 winner Renegade  as the morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby (G1).

It will draw to a conclusion that way, too.

Kentucky Derby runner-up Renegade drew post 4 in a field of nine June 1 and was installed as the 2-1 morning-line choice for the $2 million Belmont Stakes (G1) being run June 6 at Saratoga Race Course, mirroring the early wagering pecking order from five weeks earlier at Churchill Downs.

Owned by Repole Stable and breeders Robert and Lawana Low and trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the son of Into Mischief   was sent off as the 5-1 second-choice in the May 2 opening leg of the Triple Crown for 3-year-olds but settled for second, a neck behind the 23-1 winner Golden Tempo .

Renegade, who won the Arkansas Derby (G1) and Sam F. Davis Stakes prior to the Kentucky Derby, had a rough trip in the Run for the Roses after breaking from the rail.

"The post position in a nine-horse field is way less important than in a 20-horse race," co-owner Mike Repole said. "I'm happy with post 4, though I don't think any post would compromise Renegade or any other horse."

Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's Golden Tempo (post 9) was priced as the 9-2 third-choice off his last-to-first charge in the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby, the same distance as Saturday's Triple Crown finale.

"That (post) is ideal for his running style, as opposed to being on the inside with horses crossing over on him," said Cherie DeVaux, who became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby three weeks ago and would be the second woman to capture the Belmont Stakes. "He'll find his footing at the back of the pack as he has in all of his races."

Much like last year's Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty , the connections of Golden Tempo opted to skip the Preakness and target the Belmont, creating an eighth straight year without a Triple Crown sweep.

"He has really improved since the Derby, mentally and physically," DeVaux said about the homebred Curlin   colt. "He has continued the upward trend we saw heading into the Derby."

Bill Mott will try to become the first trainer to win back-to-back Belmonts since D. Wayne Lukas in 1994-96. After winning the final jewel with the aforementioned Sovereignty last year, he will send out Michael and Katherine Ball's Chief Wallabee , who rallied for fourth, three lengths behind, in the Kentucky Derby despite some traffic issues in the stretch.

"Seeing him in (an 18-horse field) in the Derby and run so well, it gives you confidence. He feels good. He's sharp. He's more alert now," Mott said about the homebred son of Constitution  . "The trouble in the Derby cost him something. Did that cost him third or a closer fourth? There's no way for me to answer that. But it did bother him. That late in the race, you are taking their momentum away. But he was courageous enough to re-start. He picked himself up and dug in. He showed some courage to re-engage."

Trainer Chad Brown has one-third of the nine entrants with the trio of Emerging Market , Ottinho , and Growth Equity .

Klaravich Stables' Emerging Market (post 8, 6-1) went off at 8-1 in the Kentucky Derby but lost a shoe early in the race and faded to 10th after being within three lengths of a rapid pace

"He had a tough race in the Derby, but once he got here, he adapted to everything well," Brown said.

Emerging Market, a son of Candy Ride  , went into the Derby off a win in the 1 3/16-mile Louisiana Derby (G2), with Golden Tempo a length behind in third.

Ottinho (5, 20-1) was second in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1), but was 11 lengths behind Further Ado , while Klaravich's Growth Equity (6, 12-1) emerges from a victory in the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Wathnan Racing's Commandment  (7, 6-1) will try to regain his winning form for trainer Brad Cox after breaking slowly and finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby. The Into Mischief colt entered the Run for the Roses off wins in the Florida Derby (G1) and Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) in which he defeated Chief Wallabee both times.

Repole and Pletcher will also send out Powershift  (2, 12-1), who lost by three-quarters of a length to Emerging Market in the Feb. 7 debut for both horses that produced dazzling speed figures. The Constitution colt was then sixth in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3), followed by an easy maiden win on Derby Day at Churchill Downs.

"Powershift is training great and we are expecting a big race from him," Repole said.

With Belmont Park slated to reopen on Sept. 18, the third and final Belmont Stakes at the Spa also attracted Vitruvian Man  (1, 30-1), who was third in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and has an ownership group that now includes rappers Lil Wayne and Lil Yachty.