The 156th running of the Belmont Stakes ended in upset fashion Saturday at Saratoga Race Course, with underdog Dornoch besting the field to claim the victory.
Taking off from the sixth post position, Dornoch was neck-and-neck with Preakness Stakers winner Seize the Grey for most of the race. The horse, jockeyed by Luis Saez, broke free on the final turn and beat out Mindframe and Sierra Leone for the win.
Incredible! 😱
Dornoch wins the 2024 @BelmontStakes! pic.twitter.com/EvMx3CQqxV
Dornoch entered the race with 15-1 odds to win, per FanDuel, which ranked eighth in the 10-horse race. Sierra Leone, which finished in third place, was the slight favorite.
Dornoch is owned in part by former MLB All-Star Jayson Werth, who played 1,583 games for four teams from 2002 to ’17. Werth won the 2008 World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies. He is now a Belmont Stakes winner.
“I would put it right up there with winning on the biggest stage,” Werth said on the FOX broadcast. “Horse racing is the most underrated sport in the world, bar none. … This is as good as it gets in horse racing; this is as good as it gets in sports.”
“Horse racing is the most underrated sport in the world, bar none… This is as good as it gets in horse racing; this is as good as it gets in sports.”
World Champion Jayson Werth co-owns 2024 @BelmontStakes champion Dornoch! 🏆🐎 pic.twitter.com/vaXuR6G8OY
Dornoch’s victory Saturday in the Belmont Stakes marked an end to this year’s Triple Crown.
TOM DIERBERGER
Tom is a writer and editor for the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. In the industry since 2016, Tom joined Sports Illustrated in 2023 after working with FOX Sports, Bally Sports, and NBC Sports. Off the clock, Tom can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.
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