Cherie DeVaux and Golden Tempo are skipping the Preakness and pointing straight to the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets at Saratoga Race Course on June 6.
The decision follows Golden Tempo's victory in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 2, the race that made DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner. The Belmont at Saratoga will carry a $2 million purse, be run at 1 1/4 miles rather than the traditional 1 1/2 miles, and mark the third consecutive year the classic is hosted in Saratoga Springs, New York.
The Kentucky Derby that produced Golden Tempo's breakthrough was a crowded, loud proving ground: 18 horses raced in front of more than 150,000-plus fans at Churchill Downs on May 2. Renegade finished a neck behind Golden Tempo in second after arriving at Churchill off back-to-back wins in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs and the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. Chief Wallabee, bumped hard in the stretch, was fourth. Commandment, pinned back by a slow start, wound up seventh. Emerging Market, the unbeaten Louisiana Derby winner who entered the Derby with two wins, finished 10th.
Those Derby placings will be part of the story at Saratoga: DeVaux and the colt's owners, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable, explicitly chose to bypass the Preakness and target the Belmont, narrowing their focus to the June 6 feature. Golden Tempo is a powerful closer who is "always flying late," and connections believe the shorter Belmont trip at Saratoga will suit him.
Context for that choice is plain: Belmont Park is still completing renovations, and for the third straight year the Belmont has been staged at Saratoga because the Spa's 1 1/8-mile main track is not built for the traditional Belmont distance of 1 1/2 miles. The result is a one-mile-and-a-quarter classic that reshuffles some long-standing assumptions about stamina and race shape.
Race dynamics change with distance and field size. The Belmont field at Saratoga is expected to be smaller and less claustrophobic than the Kentucky Derby field that tested Golden Tempo on May 2. A reduced number of runners should open more paths into the stretch—exactly the kind of running room a late-blooming closer needs. That alignment of horse, rider and course is why DeVaux and the owners elected to train to this race rather than take an extra step in Baltimore.
Still, the Belmont at Saratoga will not be a mere replay of Churchill Downs. The 1 1/4-mile trip alters pace scenarios and elevates the importance of midrace positioning. The Kentucky Derby also left questions: Renegade's narrow loss after a string of stakes wins; Chief Wallabee's stretch trouble; Commandment's trouble at the start; and Emerging Market's inability to carry an unbeaten run into Churchill. Those inconsistencies make the Belmont an open tactical puzzle even with a Derby winner in the cast.
For now, one clear fact directs the narrative: Golden Tempo, trained by DeVaux and owned by Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable, is set to be the storyline at the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets on June 6 in Saratoga Springs. How the shorter distance and a smaller field will reshape the race—and whether the historic Derby victory will translate into a classic at Saratoga—are the immediate questions as trainers finalize plans and older rivals regroup for the $2 million test.
