Belmont Gold Cup 2025 – History, Picks & Stats for Staying Turf Race
Even though it’s one of the newest events at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, the Belmont Gold Cup consistently brings an element of international excitement to the occasion. This Flat stayers race challenges endurance at Belmont Park, having been introduced in 2014. Read on to learn all about this year’s race, along with a brief history and additional information below.
What is the Belmont Gold Cup?
The Gold Cup is a Grade II turf race for thoroughbred horses aged four and older, covering a distance of two miles (3,200 meters), and it draws international competitors. Traditionally held at Belmont Park since it began, the Belmont Gold Cup in 2025 will be hosted at Saratoga instead. There is a compelling reason for this change.
Belmont Park is currently undergoing extensive renovation work at this time. This won’t be complete until 2026, so the entire Belmont Stakes Racing Festival moves upstate to Saratoga Race Course in 2024 and 2025. Per race organizers, the NYRA, the Gold Cup takes place on Friday, June 6 2025. This is a chief supporting race on the middle day of this now five-day meet.
Belmont Gold Cup History
In 2024, this race celebrated a decade since it was added to the Belmont Stakes schedule and wider program. Originally known as the Belmont Gold Cup Invitational Stakes, it has since dropped the invite aspect of its conditions from 2021 onwards.
In 2017, this became a Grade III race and a year later, it was upgraded to Grade II. The race was not run in 2020 when the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival was pared down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With three wins, John Velazquez is the most successful jockey in the short history of the event, triumphing in 2014, 2021 and 2024. No trainer or owner has enjoyed more than one win as yet.
The race is notable for the success of European horses, with recent winners hailing from the UK, Ireland and Germany. Speaking of German horses, Loft set the speed record in 2022, clocking a time of 3:16.68.
Belmont Gold Cup Winners
These are all the winners of this race since it was first run.
* Moved off turf to dirt track and run over 2,800m due to rain.Year Winning Horse Age Jockey Trainer 2025 Parchment Party * 4 John Velazquez William I. Mott 2024 The Grey Wizard 5 John Velazquez H. Graham Motion 2023 Siskany 5 William Buick Charlie Appleby (UK) 2022 Loft 4 Andrasch Starke Marcel Weiss (GER) 2021 Baron Samedi 4 John Velazquez Joseph O’Brien (IRE) 2020 No Race 2019 Amade 5 Flavien Prat Alessandro Botti (ITA) 2018 Call To Mind 4 Javier Castellano William Haggas (UK) 2017 Red Cardinal 5 Eduardo Pedroza Andreas Wohler (GER) 2016 Da Big Hoss 5 Florent Geroux Michael J. Maker 2015 Innovation Economy 4 Irad Ortiz Jr Chad C. Brown 2014 Charming Kitten 4 John Velazquez Todd Pletcher Belmont Gold Cup Picks
With this year’s edition set for Thursday, June 6, Saratoga has attracted a final field of 13 runners. More on who’s favored by horse racing experts below.
Our expert picks on the Gold Cup saw the Belmont Stakes Betting Sites handicappers find the winner in 2024, The Grey Wizard as an Across the Board bet. One of the show wagers, Limited Liability, also finished in the top 3:
Flatten The Curve to Win
German-based horses have done well in this race before with successes for that country in 2017 and 2022, so Flatten The Curve carries their flag this time. This six-year-old gelding by versatile sire Zarak has won all three starts since joining Henk Greve.
In landing a Group 3 at Colonge, then a Listed race under a penalty and a valuable Group 2 at the Berlin Hoppegarten, Flatten The Curve has clearly improved loads. The Irish mare he beat last time previously placed behind two-time European champion stayer Kyprios, so the form looks smart.
Limited Liability – Across The Board
Last year’s Belmont Gold Cup third Limited Liability went close when making the show 12 months ago. He has since turned about the form with The Grey Wizard in the Nashville Gold Cup in the fall.After making the frame in three graded races over shorter distance subsequent to that, Limited Liability is in good heart. He should at least do so again, so the wager we recommend here is Across The Board.
Timeout to Show
Running a colt by Curlin over this far looks unusual, but Bill Mott is a Hall of Fame trainer for a reason. Timeout made Honor Marie, something of a long-distance specialist, pull out everything to land the Isaac Murphy Marathon during the Kentucky Derby meet.If translating that Churchill Downs run to the turf over half-a-mile further here, then it gives him a chance. Timeout stayed on really well, hinting that his future could well be in marathon events like this.
La Mehana – Longshot Bet
If there’s one at bigger Morning Line odds who could spring a surprise, then it could be La Mehana. On back French form, she tried long distances on the Flat and ran best away from deep ground.When third in the 2023 Prix Royallieu, she hit the front too soon before the wire and got picked up. If Manny Franco can hold on longer and produce this mare late, then she could pull off a shock.
Belmont Gold Cup Belmont Stakes Double
The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival offers bettors a number of double opportunities on different races. One of these is a double bet on the Gold Cup and the Belmont Stakes. Another is the Belmont and Epsom Derby which, in 2025, take place on the same day.
Here’s how a double from the two Saratoga races works. You bet a horse to win the Gold Cup and then pick the Belmont Stakes winner too. Both picks must win for your wager to payout.
Once the Gold Cup has been run, you can see the possible payout values for every horse that is running in the Belmont Stakes, based on a $2 bet. Here are the picks from our experts in the Gold Cup and Belmont Stakes double:
Flatten The Curve (Gold Cup) & Sovereignty (Belmont) Both to Win
Joining our handicappers’ top pick for the Gold Cup in Flatten The Curve in this double is Sovereignty to win the Belmont. Both won their last races over the distances they race at Saratoga and were strong at the finish.
German horses are no strangers to Gold Cup glory. Indeed, Friday’s marathon turf race often goes to a European challenge that successfully crosses the Atlantic. As for Godolphin runner Sovereignty, his Belmont claims are obvious after landing the Kentucky Derby from subsequent Preakness hero Journalism.
Belmont Gold Cup 2025 Post Position Draw
The draw for post positions in this race took place on Saturday, 31 May this year with 13 declared. Here is the full Gold Cup post position draw for this latest edition complete with Morning Line odds:
- Flatten The Curve (122lbs) – 3-1
- Padiddle (118lbs) – 15-1
- Limited Liability (118lbs) – 2-1 SCRATCHED
- La Mehana (117lbs) – 15-1 SCRATCHED
- Anglophile (118lbs) – 9-2 SCRATCHED
- The Ginger Wizard (118lbs) – 15-1 SCRATCHED
- Curbstone (118lbs) – 12-1
- Grand Sonata (122lbs) – 6-1
- Tawny Port (118lbs) – 12-1
- Lord Flintshire (118lbs) – 30-1 SCRATCHED
- Yo Daddy (124lbs)* – 5-1
- Timeout (124lbs)* – 9-5 fav
- Parchment Party (124lbs)* – 7-2
*Entered for the main track only.
Key Race Trends for the Belmont Gold Cup
Before making your Belmont Gold Cup picks, it is worth looking back over key trends and stats of past races. There is only a short history with nine editions to look at here.
Very often when analysing races, there is one jockey or trainer more successful than most. That’s not really the case with the Gold Cup, however.
John Velazquez is the most successful jockey in the race with two wins. He won on Charming Kitten in the inaugural Gold Cup back in 2014 and then again on Baron Samedi (2021). Aside from Velazquez, no jockey has won the race more than once.
Each edition of this Gold Cup has gone to a different trainer, meanwhile. In the first few years, major domestic barns like Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown produced the winner.
Respect Overseas Runners
In more recent times, however, there have been a sequence of transatlantic raiders crossing the pond from Europe and going back with first prize. Since 2017, the last six winners of the Gold Cup have crossed the ocean.
Of these, half hailed from the British Isles (2018, 2021 and 2023). Two came from Germany (2017 and 2022), and the other from Italy (2019).
During these years, European jockeys such as William Buick (2023) and Andrasch Starke (2022) have ridden the winners. Yet there have also been winning riders from the other side of the Atlantic, such as Velazquez (2021), Flavien Prat (2019) and Javier Castellano (2018).
No connections have won the Gold Cup more than once, but some big owner-breeders feature on the roll of honor. Notable owners of winning horses include the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2018 with Call To Mind and Godolphin in 2023 with Siskany.
The age of the winners is pretty evenly split between four and five-year-olds. Favorites have a strong record in the Gold Cup. Of the nine times it has been run, the favorite has won on five occasions and finished second twice.
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Last year’s Belmont Gold Cup third Limited Liability went close when making the show 12 months ago. He has since turned about the form with The Grey Wizard in the Nashville Gold Cup in the fall.
Running a colt by Curlin over this far looks unusual, but Bill Mott is a Hall of Fame trainer for a reason. Timeout made Honor Marie, something of a long-distance specialist, pull out everything to land the Isaac Murphy Marathon during the Kentucky Derby meet.
If there’s one at bigger Morning Line odds who could spring a surprise, then it could be La Mehana. On back French form, she tried long distances on the Flat and ran best away from deep ground.
