The Belmont Stakes returns on Saturday, June 6, 2026, with a $2 million purse on the line. The 158th running of American thoroughbred racing’s oldest classic will again be held at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York, where the New York Racing Association (NYRA) has staged the event while Belmont Park is rebuilt.

This is the final Belmont Stakes at Saratoga. NYRA has confirmed that the re-imagined Belmont Park opens for live racing on September 18, 2026, and the race returns to its Long Island home in 2027. For now, the Grade 1 event headlines a five-day festival running June 3 through June 7.

So how much does the winner actually take home? Here is the full breakdown.

How much does the Belmont Stakes winner get?

The $2 million is the total purse, not the winner’s check. NYRA divides that pool among the top finishers, and first place takes the largest cut by far.

The last time the Belmont carried a $2 million purse at Saratoga, the money was split like this:

  • 1st place — $1,200,000
  • 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

If NYRA keeps the same structure in 2026 — and it has held steady in recent years — the winning horse earns a $1.2 million share. That is a large check, but it is only about a third of what the Indianapolis 500 champion banks from that race’s record purse.

Who actually splits the winner’s check?

A racehorse cannot cash a check. The $1.2 million is divided among the people behind the horse, and the split in American racing is well established.

The owner keeps roughly 80% — about $960,000. The jockey and the trainer each take close to 10%, or around $120,000 apiece. The jockey’s cut is then trimmed further by agent and valet fees, so the rider who crosses the line first rarely keeps the full six figures.

That structure is unusual among major sports. In tennis, prize money flows straight to the athlete, which is why purse splits at events like the ATP Rome Masters look very different from the way a horse race pays out.

Why is the 2026 Belmont different?

Two things set this edition apart.

First, the distance. Because of the layout of Saratoga’s main track, the 2026 Belmont will again be run at 1 1/4 miles rather than the traditional 1 1/2 miles. The shorter trip softens the brutal stamina test that earned the race its nickname, “the Test of the Champion.”

Second, the scale. The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will offer 25 stakes races worth $11,075,000 in total purses across the five days, including 10 Grade 1 events. NYRA has billed June 6 itself as italic“a blockbuster Belmont Stakes Day,”/italic with six Grade 1 races on the card, headlined by the $1 million Metropolitan Handicap and the $1 million Manhattan.

Will there be a Triple Crown winner in 2026?

No. The 2026 Triple Crown is already off the table.

Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo — the longshot that made trainer Cherie DeVaux the first woman to win the Derby — skipped the Preakness Stakes, with his connections citing the tight two-week turnaround. The Preakness went to Napoleon Solo, a 10-1 shot, at Laurel Park in Maryland.

That means no horse can sweep all three classics this year. American racing is still waiting on a successor to Justify, the last Triple Crown winner, back in 2018. A Belmont win for Golden Tempo would still be a major story — it would echo Sovereignty, who in 2025 became the first horse ever to win the Derby, skip the Preakness and then take the Belmont.

The full field and post time will be confirmed in the days before the race. italicWhich horse are you backing on June 6? Tell us in the comments./italic

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