Four horses are lining up for the 2026 Belmont Stakes without a single Triple Crown start between them. Golden Tempo romped to glory as a 30/1 outsider in the Kentucky Derby at the start of May. 8/1 shot Napoleon Solo then won the Preakness a fortnight later. None of these four were even on the same track.
Online betting sites make Growth Equity the best positioned of the bypassing quartet to claim a shock win at the Belmont. The latest odds from Sportaza online sportsbook make the Peter Pan Stakes winner a 15-1 outsider. Ottinho, runner-up in the Toyota Blue Grass, dismissed at 20-1. Powershift, who won a maiden on the Derby undercard at Churchill Downs, then breezed at Saratoga, listed as a genuine contender at 12-1. And finally Vitruvian Man, a distant third in the Santa Anita Derby back in April and nothing since, drifting to 30-1.
So, can any of them get it done and reign supreme in the Empire State, despite not running either of the Triple Crown races that have already taken place in 206? Well, five times in the modern era, a horse has won the Belmont Stakes without setting foot in the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness. Here’s the story behind each of them.
Sarava (2002)
You have to understand what War Emblem meant to people back in 2002. Bob Baffert, Victor Espinoza, a wire-to-wire Kentucky Derby, a dominant Preakness — thousands of fans packed Belmont Park not to watch a race but to watch confirmation. A Triple Crown had not happened since Affirmed in 1978. This was supposed to be the year that War Emblem wrote his name into the history books.
Ken McPeek’s Sarava, by contrast, was nobody. He had started his career on turf in England as a two-year-old, run three times, and never finished in the money. A minor injury kept him off the Derby trail entirely. Back home, he put together two second-place finishes in allowance races before winning the Sir Barton Stakes — a listed event, not a graded stakes, on the Preakness Day undercard. That was it. That was the entire case for Sarava. He went to post at 70-1, the biggest longshot in Belmont history.
Then War Emblem stumbled. Catastrophically, to his knees, at the break. He recovered physically, but the front-running colt everyone had come to see was gone in that instant. Edgar Prado had Sarava tracking Medaglia d’Oro throughout, composed and unhurried, and when he took the lead coming out of the final turn, he simply refused to be caught. Half a length at the wire and the biggest upset in Belmont history was complete.
Da’ Tara (2008)
In the days before the 2008 showpiece, Big Brown’s trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., said the Belmont was a “foregone conclusion.” His prized asset had won the Kentucky Derby by nearly five lengths, and the Preakness by 5¼ over Macho Again and Icabad Crane, and thousands of people showed up on a sunny Saturday in Elmont because Dutrow appeared to be right. Some horses just are that good.
Nick Zito’s Da’ Tara had finished 23½ lengths behind Big Brown in the Florida Derby. He had a maiden win to his name, a runner-up finish behind Roman Emperor in the Barbaro Stakes on the Preakness undercard, and nothing else. Owner Robert LaPenta decided to take a flyer. Why not? The horse was 38-1.
Under Alan Garcia, Da’ Tara broke straight to the lead and played around down the backstretch, flicking his ears. On the far turn, Kent Desormeaux asked Big Brown for his move. Nothing came. Desormeaux asked again. Still nothing. The greatest horse anyone had seen in years had simply stopped, and Da’ Tara kept galloping. He won wire-to-wire by 5¼ lengths over Denis of Cork in 2:29.65, while Big Brown became the first Triple Crown hopeful not to finish the Belmont after being pulled up.
Drosselmeyer (2010)
The 2010 Belmont had an odd quality before a stride was run: neither Derby winner Super Saver nor Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky entered the race. Without them, the betting centered on their runner-ups — Ice Box, installed as the 9-5 favorite off his close second to Super Saver, and front-runner First Dude. WinStar Farm’s Drosselmeyer had gone 0-for-3 in his prep races, including a six-length defeat to Fly Down in the Dwyer.
Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith kept Drosselmeyer wide and let him find a stride on the final turn, moving past a tiring First Dude in the stretch and holding off Fly Down by three-quarters of a length. It was the first stakes victory of Drosselmeyer’s career. Ice Box, the prohibitive favorite, was never a factor and finished ninth. To say it was a shock is something of an understatement.
Ruler on Ice (2011)
Kelly Breen had tried everything with Ruler on Ice. The gelding had run in a Philadelphia Park allowance, shipped to New Mexico for the Grade 3 Sunland Derby, and finished third, then been entered in the Federico Tesio Stakes on Derby Day at Pimlico, where he finished second to Concealed Identity.
The much-anticipated rubber match between Derby winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness winner Shackleford never materialized on a rainy afternoon. Shackleford set the pace, as expected, then emptied in the mud. Animal Kingdom clipped heels at the start, dropped far off the pace, made a bold run on the turn for home, then flattened through the stretch and finished sixth.
While two better horses fell apart around him, Ruler on Ice — 24-1, no graded stakes wins, blinkers on for the first time — swept past the lot of them and won by three-quarters of a length. It was unquestionably a moment for the history books. Talk about an upset that left the crowd reeling, and reminded everyone just how unpredictable racing can be.
Tonalist (2014)
California Chrome had won five straight races coming into the Derby. He won at Churchill Downs. He won the Preakness. He arrived at Belmont Park as a 3-5 favorite before thousands of people with Victor Espinoza in the saddle and the whole country watching, holding its breath. A Triple Crown had not happened since 1978. Thirty-six years. Chrome was, by any reasonable measure, the most beloved horse in America that afternoon, and everybody was rooting for him.
Christophe Clement’s Tonalist had missed the Derby trail entirely after a lung infection disrupted his spring. Given time to recover, Clement pointed him to the Peter Pan Stakes on the same Belmont dirt on May 10 — and Tonalist went off at 6-5 and demolished the field by four lengths on a sloppy track. Most people were too busy watching California Chrome, but the seeds for an upset had already been planted.
Joel Rosario sat third for most of the Belmont, unhurried, letting Commissioner set the fractions. In the stretch, he threaded through and caught Commissioner at the wire by a head. Medal Count was a length back in third. California Chrome, when Espinoza pressed him, had nothing left — three races in thirty-five days had taken everything. He dead-heated for fourth, beaten 1¾ lengths in total.
