The 156th running of the Belmont Stakes was held at Saratoga Race Course for the first time. And trainer Danny Gargan got his first Belmont win with 17-1 long shot Dornoch.
The third leg of the Triple Crown turned into a great race. The field was stacked with favorites Sierra Leone and Mindframe as well as Derby winner Mystik Dan and Preakness winner Seize the Grey.
Seize the Grey’s 88 year old trainer D. Wayne Lukas was going for his 16th Triple Crown win.
Seize the Grey took the lead from Dornoch just before the 1/4 mile mark and thoughts of another run like the Preakness crept in. But jockey Luis Saez had Dornoch back in first just after the 1/2 mile mark and never looked back holding off late charging Mindframe and Sierra Leone.
Jockey Luis Saez had a chance to ride Dornoch last season at Saratoga Race Course and knew he was something special. He told trainer Danny Gargan he thought Dornoch was going to win the Derby. Well the Derby didn’t work out but he made up for it at the Belmont.
Co-owner and World Series winner Jayson Werth has apparently transitioned nicely from baseball to horse racing.
2024 Belmont Stakes Race Replay Video
Did you miss the race? Watch the video replay here…
The shorter track (1 1/4 mile vs the usual 1 1/2 mile at Belmont) may have hurt Sierra Leone. Did you notice he got bumped and boxed in out the gate but was able to finally break loose and close to take third. That extra 1/4 mile may have made a difference. Trainer Chad Brown who grew up at Saratoga said “a win here would be the highlight of his career”.
Order of Finish for the 2024 Belmont Stakes
| Finish | Horse | Final Odds |
| 1 | Dornoch (#6) | 17-1 |
| 2 | Mindframe (#10) | 5-1 |
| 3 | Sierra Leone (#9) | 8-5 |
| 4 | Honor Marie (#8) | 13-1 |
| 5 | Antiquarian (#5) | 12-1 |
| 6 | Protective (#7) | 19-1 |
| 7 | Seize the Grey (#1) | 5-1 |
| 8 | Mystik Dan (#3) | 6-1 |
| 9 | The Wine Steward (#4) | 17-1 |
| 10 | Resilience (#2) | 12-1 |
2024 Belmont Stakes Purse and Prize Money
The purse for this years Preakness will be $2 million.
The purse distribution will be…
1st Place: $1.2 million
2nd Place: $360,000
3rd Place: $200,000
4th Place: $100,000
5th Place: $60,000
6th Place: $40,000
7th Place: $20,000
8th Place: $20,000
156th Belmont Stakes Betting Payouts
Another long shot wins again this year for some nice 2024 Belmont payouts.
| Win | Place | Show | |
| Dornoch | $37.40 | $17.60 | $8.10 |
| Mindframe | $6.80 | $4.20 | |
| Sierra Leone | $2.60 | ||
| $1 Exacta | $163.25 | ||
| $1 Trifecta | $473.00 | ||
| $1 Superfecta | $3,200.50 |
The “Riders Up” call was made by the FOX MLB crew from Yankee Stadium. Idina Menzel sang New York, New York and the Bugler was Vito Speranza.
This was the sixth year in a row that a different horse has won each Triple Crown race. The last time we had a multiple winner was 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify.
We’ll be back at Saratoga for the Belmont again next year as Belmont Park will still be undergoing its massive reconstruction.