Pedigree fun facts: 2026 Belmont Stakes

Jun 04, 2026 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Belmont Stakes favorite Renegade descends from a Broodmare of the Year who produced the 1952 Belmont winner (Photo by Susie Raisher/Coglianese Photos)

Five of the nine entrants in Saturday’s Belmont (G1) are by stallions who have already sired a winner of the third jewel of the Triple Crown.

Kentucky Derby (G1) upsetter Golden Tempo is by Hall of Famer Curlin, who famously just missed to champion filly Rags to Riches in the 2007 Belmont. Curlin sired a Belmont winner in his first crop, Palace Malice (2013), and four more of his offspring placed in the Belmont – Keen Ice (2015), Irish War Cry (2017), the filly Nest (2022), and Journalism (2025).

Golden Tempo’s mother, Grade 3 heroine Carrumba, is by champion Bernardini. Himself a son of 1992 Belmont-winning Hall of Famer A.P. Indy, and grandson of 1977 Triple Crown legend Seattle Slew, Bernardini came close to siring a Belmont winner when Stay Thirsty was runner-up in 2011. But Bernardini is the maternal grandfather of last year’s Belmont star, Horse of the Year Sovereignty.

Sovereignty is the first Belmont victor for perennial leading sire Into Mischief, who has two chances to go back-to-back this year with Renegade and Commandment.

Renegade is out of Grade 3 winner Spice Is Nice, a mare bred on the same cross as Golden Tempo. She too is by Curlin and out of a Bernardini mare, Grade 1 vixen Dame Dorothy.

Tracing the female line further back, Renegade descends from Broodmare of the Year Ace Card, who foaled 1952 Belmont winner One Count. They belong to the number 25 family that includes Algerine, hero of the 1876 Belmont. Algerine’s mother, Nina, is a direct maternal ancestress of Ace Card and Renegade.

Commandment’s mother, Sippican Harbor, scored her signature win here at Saratoga in the 2018 Spinaway (G1). She is a daughter of 2013 Kentucky Derby victor Orb, who was third in Palace Malice’s Belmont. Orb is a paternal grandson of A.P. Indy. Therefore Commandment sports a cross reminiscent of Sovereignty, both by Into Mischief out of A.P. Indy-line mares.

Commandment hails from the maternal family labeled 16-g, which is also responsible for 1942 Derby and Belmont champion Shut Out. If not for a troubled trip in the Preakness, where he wound up fifth, Shut Out might have vied to sweep the Triple Crown.

Belmont Stakes 2026 Predictions & Best Bets | Eddie Olczyk, @NTamm1215, @James_Scully111 & @atthetrack7.https://t.co/5YVhQeVOJE

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) June 4, 2026

Like Into Mischief, the successful stallion Constitution has two chances of siring a second Belmont winner. His son Tiz the Law captured the 2020 edition, shortened to 1 1/8 miles amid the disruptions of the pandemic. Another son, Mindframe, just missed in this 1 1/4-mile version of the Belmont at Saratoga in 2024.

Constitution is furthering the legacy of his own sire, Tapit, a scion of A.P. Indy’s sire line. The most prolific stallion in the modern history of the Belmont, Tapit tied 19th-century supersire Lexington’s record of four Belmont winners.

Constitution’s accomplished contender, Chief Wallabee, is out of a mare by 2002 Belmont near-misser Medaglia d’Oro. The other Constitution colt, Powershift, is more of a question mark on his mother’s side.

Powershift is out of the multiple stakes-winning speedster Free Flying Soul, the third-placer in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1). Free Flying Soul’s top foal so far, multiple stakes victress and Grade 1-placed Flying Connection, was best at up to 1 1/16 miles.

Although Free Flying Soul appears to be expressing an influence for speed, there is hope for Powershift fans. She is by Quiet American, sire of 1998 Derby and Preakness champion Real Quiet, who was just denied the Triple Crown by inches in the Belmont. Quiet American also factors as the maternal grandfather of Bernardini.

Diving much deeper into the maternal line, Powershift is a member of the 3-n family that has produced Belmont scorers Pasteurized (1938) and Caveat (1983).

Ottinho, a son of Quality Road, boasts an exceptionally deep maternal line. He’s a half-brother to Hall of Famer and outstanding stallion Gun Runner (sire of champion Sierra Leone, who was third in the 2024 Belmont).

Gun Runner and Ottinho are both out of Grade 2 winner Quiet Giant, who is herself a half-sister to 2005 Horse of the Year Saint Liam. Quiet Giant is by “Iron Horse” Giant’s Causeway, nearly the sire of a Belmont winner when Destin was just denied in 2016.

Ottinho belongs to the superb 17-b family of 1935 Triple Crown sweeper Omaha; Hall of Famer Johnstown, who turned the Derby/Belmont double in 1939; champion Phalanx, winner of the 1947 Belmont after placing in the Derby and Preakness; and Danzig Connection, who gave training legend Woody Stephens his fifth straight Belmont trophy in 1986.

.@James_Scully111 reviews Brisnet Speed ratings for previous Belmont winners and analyzes the 2026 field. 👀

Read Here ⬇️https://t.co/mj7ATXjN8r

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) June 3, 2026

Emerging Market shares the same sire as Gun Runner, unbeaten Argentine champion Candy Ride. Emerging Market is out of a half-sister to She Be Wild, the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) champion. They hail from the tribe dubbed 2-o, responsible for Belmont winners Creator (2016), Quadrangle (1964), and Peter Pan (1907).

Emerging Market’s mother is by 2003 Belmont conqueror Empire Maker, who turned the tables on Triple Crown-seeking Funny Cide. A dozen years later, Empire Maker’s paternal grandson, American Pharoah, would capture the 2015 Belmont to end the Triple Crown drought.

Longshot Vitruvian Man has a pedigree pattern resembling that of Golden Tempo. He’s by Curlin’s son Vino Rosso, the fourth-placer in Justify’s Belmont (2018) who went on to become a champion at four, and out of a Bernardini mare.

Vitruvian Man’s half-sister, Grade 3-placed stakes winner Miss Lizzy, is a sprinter. She takes after their maternal grandmother (second dam), millionaire Somethinaboutlaura, who was a two-time winner of the A Gleam H. (G2) at old Hollywood Park. In her first A Gleam, in 2006, Somethinaboutlaura nipped Maryfield, who would go on to win the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint for Doug O’Neill in 2007. O’Neill now trains Vitruvian Man!

Vitruvian Man traces to the 1-w family that produced Celtic Ash, the 1960 Belmont winner.

Growth Equity is a son of 2016 Derby champion Nyquist and the Grade 3-placed sprinter My Dear Venezuela. A daughter of the speedy Wildcat Heir, My Dear Venezuela is closely related to another talented sprinter, Selva. Not only are they half-sisters (sharing the same mother), but Selva is by Wildcat Heir’s own sire, Forest Wildcat.