Dornoch took the victory in the 156th Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Springs on Saturday evening, withstanding a late effort from both Mindframe and Sierra Leone to pull the upset at 17-1 odds. The result means each Triple Crown race had a different winner in 2024. Mindframe and Sierra Leone, both among the favorites entering the race, finished second and third, respectively.
Dornoch broke well from the gate, maintaining pace with Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey down the opening straightaway through turns 1 and 2 and onto the backstretch. But while Seize the Grey was not able to sustain his pace as the race wound down, Dornoch had more than enough for a burst down the final straightaway, even as Mindframe and Sierra Leone both made their charges heading towards the finish line. Dornoch would prevail by half a length at the finish line.
Dornoch's victory is the first Belmont Stakes win for West Paces Racing co-owner Jayson Werth, a former Major League Baseball All-Star, as well as trainer Danny Gargan. Jockey Luis Saez, meanwhile, earned his second win at the Belmont Stakes after previously winning with Essential Quality in 2021.
Dornoch's win serves as major redemption for the horse coming off the Kentucky Derby, in which he was shuffled back to midpack and finished 10th after starting from the No. 1 post. Today, things went much more to plan for everyone involved, validating the faith that both jockey and trainer had in their steed.
"I never lost faith in him," Saez told Fox Sports of Dornoch. "When I rode this horse last year here in Saratoga for the first time, I told Danny 'you have a Derby winner.' But unfortunately, you know, the Derby is a crazy race and we drew that No. 1 hole. Today we had pretty good confidence that we could win this race. Thank God we got it."
"He's one of the top three horses in the country and we've always thought it," Gargan said. "... Today we let him run his race and he won. If he gets to run, he's always gonna be tough to beat."
The win for Dornoch completes Triple Crown season, which saw three different horses win all three races for the sixth year in a row. Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan was never truly a factor in today's race, finishing eighth, while Seize the Grey would see its effort to go 2-for-3 on the year after winning at the Preakness dissipate on its way to finishing seventh.
156th Belmont Stakes payouts
6 -- Dornoch -- WIN ($37.40), PLACE ($17.60), SHOW ($8.10)
10 -- Mindframe -- PLACE ($6.80), SHOW ($4.20)
9 -- Sierra Leone -- SHOW (+42.60)
156th Belmont Stakes results
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