Sovereignty (center) leads Journalism (right) and Baeza to the finish line during the Kentucky Derby on May 3, 2025, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. The three horses are entered in the Belmont Stakes. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Sovereignty bested Journalism on Saturday in a Kentucky Derby rematch to win the 157th Belmont Stakes, and the second hosted at Saratoga. Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado traversed the field of eight on a fast Saratoga track after downpours throughout the morning and early afternoon dried up before post time.

It was déjà vu all over again in the 2025 Belmont Stakes. With better trips for each of the top three finishers from the Kentucky Derby five weeks ago, it was, once again, all Sovereignty in the final sixteenth of a mile.