Saturday is the $2 million-dollar Belmont Stakes.

This year’s Belmont is taking place at 1 1/4 miles and is hosted by Saratoga Race Course for the third year in a row.

While the third leg of the Triple Crown is normally contested at 1.5 miles at Belmont Park, searching for commonalities among past winners can still be an effective handicapping strategy.

That said, here are some recurring trends/angles to consider when handicapping the 2026 Belmont Stakes:

Tactical Speed. Horses with early tactical speed seem to perform best in the Belmont. Late runners do win from time to time, but 15 of the last 20 Belmont winners (75%) were racing within four lengths of the lead after the opening half mile, including eight winners (40%) who were positioned in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place.

Kentucky Derby Starters. Alumni from the Kentucky Derby have won 16 of the last 25 editions of the Belmont (64%). Of those 16 winners, 12 went straight from the Derby to the Belmont without a race in between.

Beaten Preakness Runners. Horses beaten in the Preakness Stakes rarely bounce back to win the Belmont. The last to do so was VICTORY GALLOP in 1998.

Double-Digit Longshots Over Favorites. The betting favorite has prevailed in only seven of the last 30 editions of the Belmont. That’s a modest 23%-win rate. During that same timeframe, double-digit longshots have won 12 out of 30 editions of the Belmont (40%).

Graded Stakes Winners. Horses who have won at least one Graded Stakes race have won 17 of the last 25 editions of the Belmont (68%). This trend has been especially strong in recent years, with 11 of the last 12 Belmont Stakes (92%) being won by Graded Stakes winners.

Sons Of Grade 1-Winning Route Runners. Twenty-one of the last 25 Belmont winners (84%) were sired by stallions who won a Grade 1 race at 1 1/8 miles or farther. Shortening the Belmont from 1 1/2 miles to 1 1/4 miles could, however, dilute this trend.

Respect Todd Pletcher. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has won four editions of the Belmont since 2007. He’s also saddled nine runners-up and four 3rd-place finishers since 2006. Over the past 20 years, a remarkable 28% of the top three finishers in the Belmont have come from Pletcher’s barn.

The more you know.