Horse racing’s Triple Crown concludes on Saturday when the starting gate opens in the 2026 Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Five weeks ago Golden Tempo famously rallied from last to first to win the Kentucky Derby and make Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner. Three weeks ago Napoleon Solo returned to top form to win the Preakness Stakes.
For Saturday, Kentucky Derby runner-up Renegade is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the 2026 Belmont Stakes odds. Chief Wallabee (3-1), Golden Tempo (9-2), Commandment (6-1) and Emerging Market (6-1) round out the top five on the odds board among the nine Belmont Stakes horses. Post time for the $2 million race is 7:04 p.m. ET.
With several talented runners set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you NEED to see what SportsLine horse racing expert Gene Menez has to say before making any 2026 Belmont Stakes picks or horse racing predictions considering his track record.
A former reporter and editor at Sports Illustrated, Menez covered an array of sports, including horse racing, for the magazine and its website for almost 14 years. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as SI’s handicapper for the Triple Crown races and correctly predicted Super Saver to win the Kentucky Derby in 2010.
In 2015, while writing for Sports on Earth, Menez accurately gave out the Kentucky Derby superfecta (American Pharoah, Firing Line, Dortmund and Frosted), which paid $1,268.20 for $2. Then in 2017, he tweeted out his Kentucky Derby picks, including Always Dreaming to win, and hit the Pick 4, which paid almost $6,900 on a $1 bet. In 2024, Menez gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby.
Menez excels on horse racing’s biggest days. In 2024 he crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders’ Cup Saturday for a $5,303 windfall. Last year he nailed the winner, trifecta and superfecta in the Florida Derby for a $529.60 score and the winner and trifecta in the Blue Grass Stakes for a $761.96 jackpot. He hit the late Pick 4 on Kentucky Oaks day for $915.48. In the Kentucky Derby, he hammered the exacta and trifecta for a $1,045 payout.
And earlier this year he struck big on Fountain of Youth day, hitting the late Pick 5 for $4,648.
Last year Menez put his handicapping skills up against the best horseplayers and finished 115th out of 643 entries in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, the biggest live-money handicapping tournament in the country.
Now, Menez has handicapped the 2026 Belmont Stakes field and revealed his picks. We can tell you that Menez is not using Golden Tempo at all, even though he is the Kentucky Derby winner. “I’m going to completely toss Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, who is unlikely to get the sweet pace setup that greatly helped him win the Derby,” he told SportsLine.
Instead, Menez’s top pick is a horse who “should sit a perfect trip.” He also is high on a double-digit longshot who can “upset this field at a nice price.” Menez is including these horses in his 2026 Belmont Stakes bets, and so should you. You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see which horses they are before making any 2026 Belmont Stakes picks of your own.
