Saratoga Spring, New YorkAP —
Golden Tempo won the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, capturing the third leg of the Triple Crown five weeks after winning the Kentucky Derby and making more history for trainer Cherie DeVaux.
With jockey Jose Ortiz aboard, Golden Tempo charged down the stretch at Saratoga Race Course to win the Belmont, holding off Commandment before the finish line at the historic track to win at odds of 6-1. Commandment was second and favorite Renegade third.
“Golden Tempo is amazing. Jose is amazing,” said DeVaux, who was born in Saratoga Springs and began her training career there. “I think he needed to do this to kind of show that he was meant to win the Derby and that he is a horse that belongs in that conversation of being one of the top 3-year-olds.”
DeVaux, after becoming the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner, is the second in four years to do so at the Belmont. Jena Antonucci won it with Arcangelo in 2023. DeVaux is the first woman to win multiple Triple Crown races.
“It’s overwhelming,” DeVaux said. “All the credit goes to Golden Tempo, who won the race and Jose did a wonderful job of making it happen. But I’m just so fortunate to be in this position. It’s history-making, and I’ve kind of shied away from it, but I’m really gracious that I am that person.”
The pace was not nearly as fast as it was at Churchill Downs, yet Golden Tempo still was able to close in time to win the 1 1/4-mile race in 2:03.49. It didn’t matter, as he was the best in the field of nine horses.
DeVaux and Ortiz lift the trophy after winning the final leg of the Triple Crown. Yuki Iwamura/AP
“He wasn’t going to get that setup as he did in the Derby,” Ortiz said. “We all knew that, and I was a little worried about it. He needed some kind of setup. But today, there wasn’t one and he showed up today and won.”
This was the third and final time for the Belmont at Saratoga in upstate New York while its traditional home on the border of Queens and Long Island is getting demolished and rebuilt. The race is set to return to Belmont Park next year.
“It’s so meaningful,” DeVaux said. “A lot of family here. Saratoga, it’s been wonderful to have such a historic race here. … It’s so meaningful because the town gets to have this and celebrate it along with us.”
Golden Tempo paid $14 to win, $7.32 to place and $3.88 to show. Commandment paid $7.02 to show and $4.08 to place, while Renegade — the Derby runner-up — paid $2.52 to place.
Ortiz celebrates as he crosses the finish line aboard Golden Tempo on Saturday. Yuki Iwamura/AP
Ortiz said he followed Renegade, ridden by older brother Irad, just as he did in the Derby. It worked out just the same in the first Saturday in June as the first Saturday in May.
“He was a bouncing a bit today, which made me very happy because I wanted him to be a little bit sharper today,” Jose Ortiz said. “You can see him, he’s very relaxed. He does what I ask him to do. That’s the main thing.”
Co-owner Vinnie Viola dedicated the race to late friend Dominic DiPrisco, who died Wednesday at age 70.
“I know you’re in heaven, and I love you and this race is for you,” Viola said. “It means more than I can express in words right now.”
Ortiz won the Belmont Stakes for the second time, nine years after his first aboard Tapwrit in 2017.
“Obviously the last Belmont in Saratoga make it special, but it’s all about him,” Ortiz said. “We just wanted him to get better and keep winning these kinds of races. … We’re very happy with him. It’s all about him.”
