Mo Donegal wins 2022 Belmont Stakes in New York; Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike finishes sixth

The "Riders Up" call has been given. "New York, New York" has been sung. And the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes is now in the books.

Mo Donegal won the 2022 Belmont Stakes, the oldest and longest Triple Crown race, in front of about 46,000 people on a 73-degree, cloudy Saturday in Elmont, New York. Mo Donegal entered the eight-horse field as the frontrunner with 5-2 odds, followed by We the People (4-1) and Rich Strike (4-1).

The closer rallied as the field rounded the turn and took charge down the stretch, rolling to an impressive victory over the filly Nest, as trainer Todd Pletcher swept the top two spots. The Uncle Mo colt, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., was able to get to the front quickly and win by three lengths, covering the 1½-mile distance in 2:28.28. 

"This has been a dream I've had for 40 years," said owner Mike Repole, who also owns runner-up Nest. "This is New York's race."

Mo Donegal earned the $800,000 winner’s share from the $1.5 million purse, bringing his career earnings to more than $1.5 million, including a victory in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.

Skippylongstocking finished in third place. We The People, who got out to an early lead, finished in fourth place. 

We the People went postward as the second choice at 7-2, but the front-runner was unable to win for the second time at Belmont Park in three weeks. After capturing the Peter Pan Stakes by more than 10 lengths, We the People, trained by Rodolphe Brisset, led the field through the first mile, but was unable to hang on.

For Rich Strike, it was a disappointing finish. Rich Strike returned to the track at the Belmont Stakes five weeks after a stunning upset in the Kentucky Derby as the 80-1 longshot, the second-biggest upset in the race's history. No longer the underdog, the spotlight was on Rich Strike, but he finished in sixth place. 

"We were hoping we could be a little closer and the pace was slow," said trainer Eric Reed. "Our biggest change today was we decided to stay a little out of the rail and try to give him a good open run when he would take off — this is the first time he’s not been on the inside rail."

Reed continued: "(Jockey Sonny Leon) said he wanted down on the rail the whole way and he was not aggressive running in the middle of the track and when he started to make his run he had to make it out there because we put him out there, so I think we just made a tactical error and we’ll have to teach him to run around horses."

Mo Donegal's win marks the fourth consecutive year that three different horses have won the three Triple Crown races. Rich Strike won the Kentucky Derby and Early Voting won the Preakness Stakes. The last time that happened in four straight years was 1926 through 1929.