The fervor for a Kentucky Derby rematch has been building for weeks and it looks like horse racing fans might get their wish at the 2025 Belmont Stakes. Sovereignty beat Journalism by 1 1/2 lengths at Churchill Downs and bypassed the Preakness Stakes, which Journalism won by a 1/2 length last Saturday. Both are probable for the 2025 Belmont Stakes field at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday, June 7. Post time is 6:50 p.m. ET. Sovereignty (8-5) and Journalism (2-1) are the two favorites in the 2025 Belmont Stakes odds, but they won't be the only 2025 Belmont Stakes contenders at Saratoga.
Baeza (4-1) finished third in the Kentucky Derby and Bob Baffert's Rodriguez (8-1) could make his Triple Crown debut after being scratched in the first two legs because of a minor injury. Before making any 2025 Belmont Stakes picks, be sure to see the horse racing predictions and futures bets from SportsLine's elite horse racing expert Jody Demling.
A fixture in the horse racing world who has been writing about, talking about and betting on races for years, Demling hit the top three finishers at the Kentucky Derby in the correct order and then nailed the exacta in this year's Preakness Stakes. He also predicted the winner of the Belmont Stakes four of the last seven years, including an exacta in 2022 with Mo Donegal and Nest. Anyone who has followed him on those picks is up huge and first-time users can boost their bankroll with the latest FanDuel Racing promo code.
Now, with the 2025 Belmont Stakes around the corner, Demling is sharing his 2025 Belmont Stakes betting picks and 2025 Belmont Stakes predictions over at SportsLine. Go here to see them.
Top 2025 Belmont Stakes predictions
One of Demling's surprising 2025 Belmont Stakes picks: He isn't picking Sovereignty or Journalism to win, even though they each won a leg of this year's Triple Crown and are the two favorites. Before their thrilling head-to-head battle at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of May, Sovereignty had previously won the Street Sense Stakes and Fountain of Youth Stakes, while Journalism's three graded-stakes victories were highlighted by a win in the Santa Anita Derby.
They went off as the two favorites at the Kentucky Derby and went stride for stride down the stretch before Sovereignty pulled ahead in the final furlong. Journalism came back two weeks later to pull off a come-from-behind win at the Preakness Stakes, but recent history doesn't bode well for the winners of the first two American classics in the third leg of the Triple Crown.
Justify's Triple Crown win in 2018 was the last time that the winner of the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness Stakes also won the Belmont Stakes. To make matters even worse for Journalism, no horse that has competed in the Preakness Stakes has come back to win the Belmont Stakes since Justify. See which other 2025 Belmont Stakes horses to target at SportsLine.
How to make 2025 Belmont Stakes picks, bets
Demling's top pick is an underdog who could be "the best value in the race." Demling is sharing which horse it is, along with his entire projected 2025 Belmont Stakes leaderboard, over at SportsLine.
Which horse wins the Belmont Stakes 2025, and which value longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2025 Belmont Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Demling's picks for the Belmont Stakes, all from the expert who nailed the top three Kentucky Derby finishers in the correct order and the Preakness Stakes exacta.
2025 Belmont Stakes horses, odds
