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Whirlaway in the Belmont Stakes winner's circle.

Triple Crown Winner Whirlaway: Calumet's Mercurial and Brilliant Star

It's never a good thing when your boss calls you a knucklehead.

“You can teach him,” quipped legendary trainer Ben A. Jones of Whirlaway in the spring of 1941, “but you can't teach him much. ”

Jonathon Kinchen, FOX Sports, analyst, horseplayer, Belmont Stakes, Saratoga, Belmont Park, Kentucky Derby, Triple Crown, Chief Wallabee, Emerging Market, Powershift, Growth Equity, Renegade, Golden Tempo, Commandment, horse racing, ABR

FOX Sports’ Jonathon Kinchen Analyzes Final Belmont Stakes at Saratoga

FOX Sports will provide extensive coverage of the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., beginning Wednesday and extending through Sunday.

Belmont Stakes, Saratoga Race Course, At a Glance, Golden Tempo, Renegade, Triple Crown, America's Best Racing, horse racing, ABR

2026 Belmont Stakes at a Glance

Round 1 went to Golden Tempo. Round 2, which is actually Round 3 of the Triple Crown, comes Saturday when the top-two finishers in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve meet again in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets.

Jockeys Irad Ortiz Jr., Junior Alvarado, and Jose Ortiz (left to right) have scheduled mounts in the 2026 Belmont Stakes June 6 at Saratoga. Each rider has won the race before.

Meet the 2026 Belmont Stakes Jockeys

The group of jockeys assembled to ride in this year’s Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets includes many of the leading riders in the Empire State, including five who competed in last year’s race.

Swale: Claiborne's Beloved 1984 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes Winner

In some ways, Swale can be considered the Riva Ridge of the 1980s.

Both were champions.

Each was obscured by a famous stablemate for part of his career.

They also registered the first Kentucky Derby win for one of the sport’s most famous farms.

Both suffered a loss in the Preakness that kept them from sweeping the Triple Crown.

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