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Belmont Stakes TV Viewership Down Slightly, Non-CAW Wagering Increases
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- Belmont Stakes TV Viewership Down Slightly, Non-CAW Wagering Increases
The absence of a potential Triple Crown sweep for the eighth consecutive year led to predictably low ratings for the FOX network telecast of the Belmont Stakes from Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
The network reported a highwater mark of 4.7 million viewers during the race portion of the telecast, with the combined audience on FOX and FS1 averaging 3.73 million throughout the telecast, according to data compiled by Nielsen Media Research.
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The number of viewers is down slightly from the average of 3.83 million in 2025, but up from 3.66 million in 2024 and 3.52 million in 2023. The 2023 television audience, the first year the Belmont Stakes was broadcast by FOX, was the smallest for the Triple Crown's final leg in 30 years, according to Sports Business Journal.
The 2022 Belmont Stakes, the final year it was televised by NBC, averaged 4.72 million viewers. NBC has a long-term contract to televise the Kentucky Derby through 2032, while its contract for the Preakness expired after this year's renewal. The NYRA-FOX agreement runs through 2030.
The last time a 3-year-old Thoroughbred made a bid for the Triple Crown was in 2018, when Justify added to his Kentucky Derby and Preakness victories with a wire-to-wire triumph in the Belmont. That year's telecast attracted an average viewership of 12.7 million. down from American Pharoah's Triple Crown sweep in 2015, when there were an average 18.6 million viewers and a peak of 22 million. The all-time record for the Belmont came with a failed Triple Crown bid by Smarty Jones in 2004, when the NBC telecast averaged 21.9 million viewers.
The Belmont Stakes viewership was the lowest of the three Triple Crown races in 2026. The Kentucky Derby had its biggest audience ever, with 24.4 million tuning in to watch the race itself and the NBC show averaging 19.6 million. The Preakness, held at Laurel Park in 2026 while Pimlico is under construction, had neither Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo or runner-up Renegade in the lineup but still managed to attract an average 5.5 million viewers and 7.1 million during the race. This year's Preakness audience was up from 2025, when the telecast averaged 4.6 million viewers and also was without the Kentucky Derby winner, Sovereignty.
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From a betting standpoint, the five-day Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga generated $199,913,502 in pari-mutuel handle, up by just over $2 million from 2025 when $197,784,560 was bet over the five days. In 2024, the first year the Belmont Stakes Festival was transferred to Saratoga while a new Belmont Park grandstand is being built, four days of racing generated almost as much handle as in 2025, $197,463,150.
Computer-assisted wagering operators reduced their handle by 44.7 percent from 2025, dropping from $39,989,964 over the five days of the Belmont Stakes Festival to $22,109,626. The CAWs accounted for just 11.1 percent of handle in 2026 compared with 20.2 percent in 2025.
The drop in CAW was not unexpected. Earlier this year, NYRA became the first and only North American track to prevent CAW operators from generating batched, computer-driven wagers in the final seconds by cutting them off at one minute to post. NYRA previously installed a two-minute cutoff on win bets from CAW players in an effort to prevent dramatic swings in the odds during the final wagering cycle.
Non-CAW handle increased by 12.7 percent at this year's five-day meet, from $157,794,596 in 2025 to $177,803,877 this year.
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The 2027 Belmont Stakes will return to a newly built Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Jun 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
