The winner of the $2 million Belmont Stakes (G1) could be in line for an added bonus this year.
Not from the New York Racing Association. Nor will it come from one of the sponsors.
With the June 7 final leg of the Triple Crown scheduled to be contested at Saratoga Race Course at a mile-and-a-quarter distance for a second straight year, breeders figure to have more interest in securing stallion rights to the winner of the 157th Belmont Stakes (G1) than the typical first-place finisher in "The Test of the Champion." It's all about the distance.
In its second year at the Spa while Belmont Park is rebuilt, the Belmont Stakes will be contested at the same classic, 1 1/4-mile distance as the Kentucky Derby (G1) and the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), making it more attractive to breeders and stud farms than the mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes, which has become a bit of an outlier in an industry more focused on speed than stamina.
"The reality of it is, in terms of the industry and from a stud farm perspective, a mile-and-a-quarter Belmont winner is more marketable than a mile-and-a-half winner and they would rather see a mile-and-a-quarter Belmont Stakes," said Ned Toffey, general manager of Spendthrift Farm. "I don't agree with it, but in recent years breeders have become less accepting of a Belmont horse."
Toffey understands the situation quite well as Spendthrift secured the breeding rights to Dornoch , who won the initial mile-and-a-quarter Belmont Stakes at Saratoga in 2024. Aside from his classic win, Dornoch had a rich résumé that enticed a score of breeders. By Good Magic —Puca, by Big Brown, he is a full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby victor Mage and he also won the Haskell (G1) and Remsen (G2) stakes, both at 1 1/8 miles.
A 1 1/4-mile victory in one of the American Triple Crown races for 3-year-olds is the proverbial icing on the cake for the $2.4 million earner.
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"There's no doubt everything Dornoch did added to his appeal," Toffey said. "There has been some criticism of the mile-and-a-half Belmont among breeders and I think it's a little unfair. They say it is a plodder's race and not a stallion-making race. That might make sense if that's all the horse wins, but if they can demonstrate they can do other things, it shows they have talent."
While some breeders such as WinStar Farm's Elliott Walden believe the shorter distance doesn't matter in terms of the Belmont Stakes being a stallion-making race, John Sikura, owner of Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, said that a Triple Crown win at a mile and a quarter as opposed to a mile and a half is more appealing for breeders.
"I think it helps somewhat as far as stallion appeal and interest in the breeding shed," Sikura said. "The Belmont at a mile and a quarter has increased the race's visibility and given it more cachet than it does traditionally."
Yet Sikura added that reflective of the need for speed in breeding, the Belmont Stakes generally carries less weight than the other two legs of the Triple Crown—unless a horse sweeps all three classics.
"In my mind the other two legs of the Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes at a mile and three-sixteenths) will still be more important in terms of stallion value and how the races are viewed. I think there's attrition factors from getting to the Kentucky Derby, running in it, and then running in the Preakness which often turns the Belmont into the survival of the fittest and who's left. It's not necessarily an assemblage of the best 3-year-olds," Sikura said. "By no means is it an unimportant race. I just believe the other races have more impact on breeders and that enhances the reputation of horses who win them as potential stallions. The mile and a quarter is helpful but the other Triple Crown winners are more sought after.
"I believe the Travers Stakes at Saratoga is probably still more important to breeders than the Belmont Stakes because of how it is viewed in terms of past winners and what they went on to do," he added.
Walden, WinStar's CEO, president, and racing manager, said the distance of the race is not a concern. In his mind, the Belmont Stakes' stature as a demanding leg of the Triple Crown race outweighs that.
"It's been a stallion-proving race," Walden said. "The Belmont carries a little bit of a stigma as far as being a sire-making race, but I don't think that's true. You think of horses like A.P. Indy who won it and became outstanding stallions."
The skepticism some breeders have for the Belmont is quite reflective of the trend to infuse speed, speed, and more speed into stallions. It has created a situation in which the 3-year-old stakes on the Belmont Stakes card that some breeders eye the most is not the main event. It's the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) at seven furlongs.
"Horses who win the Woody Stephens are more sought after than the mile-and-a-quarter horses," Sikura said. "It's probably unfortunate, but speed is here to stay and mile-and-a-half races are an anomaly."
As Walden put it, "Milers probably carry a little more cachet than the route horses, whether it's a mile and a quarter or a mile and a half."
Yet for all the emphasis on speed, Toffey points out how vital stamina is for a Triple Crown candidate or a horse seeking an Eclipse Award in divisions for 3-year-olds or older runners.
"I know speed is huge, but you need stamina and that's what seems to be going away in the American Thoroughbred. I believe stamina is what distinguishes horses," Toffey said. "What you want is a horse who can go fast and carry that speed. The more stamina goes away, the less likely horses are to carry that speed, so you do not want to see much of that influence go away. Speed can't be ignored but the breed suffers if we get too far apart from stamina mattering."
With Belmont Park scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2026, it seems a foregone conclusion that the 2026 Belmont Stakes at Saratoga again will be contested at the same distance of a mile and a quarter as the Travers Stakes (G1) later in the summer. But in 2027, it will be back home on Long Island, and, with the newest version of Belmont Park remaining a mile-and-a-half oval, it will return to its traditional distance.
Some in the industry might have preferred a smaller track and shorter distance for the final leg of the Triple Crown, but Sikura was happy to learn that a time-honored part of racing will only be on a three-year hiatus.
"I guess you could argue that in today's environment the Belmont Stakes should be a mile and a quarter but I'm a traditionalist," Sikura said. "The Triple Crown as it is, with the spacing and distances and having to run a mile and a half in the Belmont Stakes even if it's not your forte, it's important. It's a test of a champion. To be a Triple Crown winner you should be a great horse who can win at a mile and a half. I think it's a requirement because the other great horses have done it and so should everyone else.
"The mile and a half is a great test of stamina. There are a lot of examples of horses who were not mile-and-a-half horses but ran their guts out and won the race. It's a real test of bravery, courage, and talent. I like the mile-and-a-half distance and it's an important race," he continued. "As much as people want speed in a stallion, let's try to keep the ultimate distance stakes in place, and the Belmont Stakes is certainly a great test."
