Sovereignty surges down the stretch to win the Belmont Stakes – The New York Times

Sports Betting
Saturday’s Belmont Stakes were billed as a thrilling rematch between two great champion horses, a chance for one to notch a second Triple Crown race victory and declare themselves the best 3-year-old in the sport. It did not disappoint.
Sovereignty now proudly holds that moniker after roaring down the stretch under jockey Junior Alvarado and passing Journalism, the 2-1 favorite, to decisively win the 157th Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
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The race was the second time this Triple Crown season that Sovereignty and Journalism found themselves out in front with the finish line approaching. At the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs last month, Sovereignty and Journalism finished 1-2, with both making late charges to the front of the field.
Journalism was also the favorite in that race, but Sovereignty, owned by Godolphin, held on to become the first horse to finish first at the Kentucky Derby for trainer Bill Mott. Mott won the Kentucky Derby in 2019 with Country House, but that came after Maximum Security was disqualified despite crossing the finish line first. This is Mott’s second Belmont win. He also won in 2010 with Drosselmeyer.
Mott held Sovereignty out of last month’s Preakness Stakes to prepare for the Belmont, which was held at Saratoga for the second straight year because of renovations being made at Belmont Park. That strategy paid off when his horse, which went off at 5-2 odds, finished the mile-and-a-quarter race in 2 minutes 0.69 seconds.
“We had a repeat of the Derby,” Mott said after Saturday’s race.
But many will be wondering whether Sovereignty could have joined the short list of Triple Crown champions if he had run in Pimlico. Since 2005, only two other horses have won more than one Triple Crown race: American Pharoah and Justify, who each won the Triple Crown.
“It turned out good,” Mott said of the decision not to run in the Preakness. “If we wouldn’t have won today, we would have taken a lot of criticism.”
With Sovereignty out of the Preakness field, Journalism authored a thrilling victory at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. After spending much of the race in the middle of the pack, Journalism, under jockey Umberto Rispoli, found a small gap between two other horses. Despite being bumped and nearly knocked off course, Journalism surged to the lead down the stretch, passing Gosger steps before the finish line.
Baeza, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby, opened with the third-best odds to win (4-1) and finished third in the eight-horse field. There was rain during the day at Saratoga Springs, but conditions were clear for the race and the track was in good shape.
The connection between Sovereignty and Journalism was clear after the race, as Alvarado and Rispoli embraced while walking their horses on the track and each reached out to lovingly pat the other’s horse.
“It’s about two great horses,” Alvarado said.
The year has been especially notable for Alvarado, who had never won a Triple Crown race before. Now he has two.
“There was a point in my career, I think probably five, six years ago, I kind of see everything fading away, to be honest,” Alvarado said. “And here I am. It’s unbelievable.”
(Top photo of jockey Junior Alvarado, Sovereignty and Journalism: Jessica Hill / Associated Press)

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