Belmont Stakes 2025 Payout, Prize Money Purse and Triple Crown Order of Finish

The 157th running of the Belmont Stakes unfolded on Saturday evening, marking the end of the 2025 Triple Crown race series. For the second time in three races, Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado pushed past Journalism down the final stretch to claim the victory.

The win brought the third thrilling finish of the series and one nearly identical to that of the Kentucky Derby.

Trainer Bill Mott announced after winning the Derby that Sovereignty would skip the Preakness Stakes to prepare for Saturday's race. Whether that decision truly impacted the race or not, Mott, Alvarado and Sovereignty are back in the winner's circle.

Here's a breakdown of the order of finish and payouts after Saturday's Triple Crown finale.

Order of Finish and Prize Purse ($2 million total)

1. Sovereignty - $1.2 million

2. Journalism - $360,000

3. Baeza - $200,000

4. Rodriguez - $ 100,000

5. Crudo - $60,000

6. Hill Road - $40,000

7. Uncaged - $30,000

8. Hill of Honor - $20,000

Payouts

Sovereignty: Win $7, Place $3.20, Show $2.30

Journalism: Place $3.20, Show $2.30

Baeza: Show $2.60

$1 Exacta: $6.60

$1 Trifecta: $13.80

$1 Superfecta: $40.50

Racing fans knew that there would be no Triple Crown winner in 2025 shortly after Mott announced that Sovereignty wouldn't run in the Preakness. However, that didn't mean there wasn't intrigue heading into race day.

With both Sovereignty and Preakness-winner Journalism in the field, a horse had a chance to win two out of three while either skipping a race (Sovereignty) or placing second in the third (Journalism).

Having Baeza, who finished third at the Kentucky Derby, in the field only added to the excitement.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Journalism (8-5), Sovereignty (2-1) and Baeza (4-1) were the early favorites following Monday's post draw.

"We’re delighted to have the first three horses out of the Derby challenging each other again,” Michael Banahan of Godolphin, which owns Sovereignty, said during the week, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. “It’s a quality race."

Sunday's race was shorter than the Belmont usually is. As was the case last year, the race was held at Saratoga Race Course because of ongoing renovations at Belmont Park. Therefore, it was the same 1 1⁄4-mile length as the Kentucky Derby instead of the Belmont's traditional 1 1⁄2-mile length.

Of course, for Journalism, the only horse to run all three of this year's Triple Crown races, fatigue was likely still a factor.

However, there was a brief moment late in the race when it felt like Journalism might make a second straight memorable run. After running down Gosger at the Preakness, jockey Umberto Rispoli pushed his horse past the pack down entering the final stretch in Saturday's Belmont.

Then, Alvarado and Sovereignty did what they did at Churchill Downs and found an extra gear in time to overtake Journalism and win convincingly. It would seem that Mott's decision to sit out the second race paid off.

"It turned out good," Mott told Fox's Tom Rinaldi during the broadcast. "If we wouldn't have won today, we would've taken a lot of criticism."

Sovereignty is now the first horse to ever win the Derby, skip the Preakness and win the Belmont. While fans are left wondering if Sovereignty could have won this year's Triple Crown, this was still an incredible feat. Saturday brought an incredible race, and Sovereignty helped give fans an incredible Triple Crown series in 2025.