Belmont Stakes Results 2024: Dornoch Upsets Favorite Sierra Leone to Win at Saratoga

Dornoch held off Mindframe and favorite Sierra Leone to win the 2024 Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.

The colt and jockey Luis Saez ran near the top of the field for the bulk of the race and didn’t lose much speed as Mindframe and Sierra Leone both mounted a late charge down the final stretch.

Sierra Leone entered the day as the slight favorite ahead of Seize the Gray. He reeled off wins in the Risen Star and Blue Grass Stakes before his runner-up finish in the Kentucky Derby.

A monthlong layoff meant the colt was coming into Saratoga Springs fresh as well. The same wasn’t said of Preakness winner Seize the Gray, who had a shorter turnaround from his triumph at Pimlico Race Course.

Mindframe became a trendy choice as well despite being somewhat unproven. He had only run in two events, neither of which was a graded-stakes race, ahead of his inclusion in the Belmont field.

The Belmont Stakes proved to be a good showcase for Mindframe, even in a losing effort. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and trainer Todd Pletcher will likely come away disappointed after having gotten so close, and the win was there for the taking.

Still, Mindframe showed the hype was justified.

Contrast his performance with that of Sierra Leone, who sat back until rounding into the final turn. A third-place finish doesn’t tell the full story of his race and how little he factored into the outcome.

To the victor go the spoils.

Dornoch was a 17-1 underdog when he walked up to the gate and you wouldn’t have guessed it based on how well he started and then managed to stay ahead of Mindframe and Sierra Leone with the finish line in his sights.

Especially in such a long race, plenty of fans were probably waiting for the moment when Dornoch would begin to lose steam and allow for the heavy hitters to take center stage. Instead, he relished playing the role of spoiler.

“He’s one of the top 3-year-olds in the country, and we’ve always thought it,” trainer Danny Gargan said. “We let him run his race and he won. If he gets to run, he’s always going to be tough to beat.”

With the Triple Crown now over for this season, casual fans are likely to pivot their attention away from horse racing until the Breeders’ Cup. The Classic will get underway on Nov. 2 in Del Mar, California.