Belmont Park is the closest major track to our Connecticut customers, and this Saturday it gives us two turf stakes for three year olds. The $200,000 Hill Prince Stakes (G3) brings a $3 million winner back to New York, and the $175,000 Bricks and Mortar Stakes runs for the very first time.
Both fields are drawn, and the rebuilt Belmont, which reopened on September 18, stages them on an 11 race card with first post at 12:05pm ET.
Belmont Park Saturday at a Glance
The Bricks and Mortar Stakes is Race 8, a seven furlong sprint on the Widener turf with nine runners. The Hill Prince Stakes is Race 10, run over 1 3/16 miles on the inner turf, also with nine runners. Both races are for three year olds.
Belmont has no stakes on Friday, Sunday or Monday this week, so Saturday is the day to focus on.
Hill Prince Stakes 2026: Caroline St. Beat Heads a Nine Horse Field
The Hill Prince dates back to 1975 and honors Hill Prince, the Hall of Fame colt owned by Christopher Chenery, the man whose Meadow Stable later bred Secretariat. Aqueduct staged the race from 2023 through 2025, so this year it comes back to Belmont Park on a new course and at a new trip of 1 3/16 miles. Barclay Tagg’s Tiz Dashing won it last year.
Caroline St. Beat (post 6) is the horse to beat. Miguel Clement’s Tiz the Law colt won a New York bred allowance at Saratoga in late August, then shipped to Kentucky Downs a week later and won the $3 million Nashville Derby (G2) by 1½ lengths at 17/1 under Tyler Gaffalione. He earned a field best 92 Beyer that day and has already banked $1,175,875 from five starts. Manny Franco, who rode him in his first four races, gets back on.
Clement calls him “a very tough horse” who eats well and has great bone. The question is whether a quick turnaround and a long trip to Kentucky have left a mark. On form alone, nothing else in this field has beaten a group like the one he beat in Nashville.
The Hill Prince Challengers
Lennox the Grey (post 4) brings the most recent graded win. Arnaud Delacour’s son of Liam’s Map won the Old Dominion Derby (G3) at Colonial Downs on September 7 by a nose from The Big Con, briefly losing the lead in the stretch before fighting back. Antonio Fresu rides.
Two more runners come out of that Old Dominion Derby. Ken McPeek’s Chambersville (post 8) finished third and picks up Javier Castellano. Ray Handal’s Heeere’s Johnny (post 3) won the Saranac Stakes for New York breds at Saratoga, then finished seventh at Colonial, so he needs to bounce back. Dylan Davis rides him.
Tom Proctor’s Third Coast (post 9) is a stakes winner who ran second in the Gio Ponti at Saratoga, with Jose Lezcano aboard. Jena Antonucci, who trained Arcangelo to win the 2023 Belmont Stakes, sends out Bull Shoals (post 5), fourth in that same Gio Ponti, with Kendrick Carmouche.
The rest of the field steps up from allowance company. Print (post 1) won an optional claimer at Saratoga on August 29 for trainer Robert Ribaudo and rides with Ricardo Santana Jr. Shug McGaughey’s Protect and Defend (post 2) won his maiden at Saratoga on September 2 and takes a big jump in class under Samuel Marin. Todd Pletcher’s Versailles Road (post 7) finished ninth behind Caroline St. Beat in the Nashville Derby and has Edgard Zayas up.
| Post | Horse | Sire | Jockey | Trainer | Last Start | Morning Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Munnings | Ricardo Santana Jr. | Robert Ribaudo | Won Saratoga optional claimer, Aug 29 | TBC | |
| 2 | Protect and Defend | Munnings | Samuel Marin | Shug McGaughey | Won Saratoga maiden, Sept 2 | TBC |
| 3 | Heeere's Johnny | Oscar Performance | Dylan Davis | Ray Handal | 7th Old Dominion Derby (G3) | TBC |
| 4 | Lennox the Grey | Liam's Map | Antonio Fresu | Arnaud Delacour | Won Old Dominion Derby (G3) | TBC |
| 5 | Bull Shoals | Mo Forza | Kendrick Carmouche | Jena Antonucci | 4th Gio Ponti | TBC |
| 6 | Caroline St. Beat | Tiz the Law | Manny Franco | Miguel Clement | Won Nashville Derby (G2) | TBC |
| 7 | Versailles Road | Quality Road | Edgard Zayas | Todd Pletcher | 9th Nashville Derby (G2) | TBC |
| 8 | Chambersville | Twirling Candy | Javier Castellano | Ken McPeek | 3rd Old Dominion Derby (G3) | TBC |
| 9 | Third Coast | Uncle Mo | Jose Lezcano | Tom Proctor | 2nd Gio Ponti | TBC |
Bricks and Mortar Stakes: A Brand New Race With a Famous Name
Saturday’s Race 8 is the first ever Bricks and Mortar Stakes, and the name carries real weight. Chad Brown’s Bricks and Mortar won 11 of his 13 starts and went unbeaten through 2019, a season that included the Pegasus World Cup Turf, the Manhattan, the Arlington Million and the Breeders’ Cup Turf. He was named Horse of the Year. His race is a seven furlong, one turn sprint on the Widener turf for three year olds, worth $175,000.
Two Out Hero (post 1) looks the one to beat. Kevin Attard’s son of War Front ran second to European raider Take Charge Star in the Franklin Simpson (G2) at Kentucky Downs last time and has a record of three wins, two seconds and a third from nine starts. Attard thinks seven furlongs suits him perfectly: “I think he’s probably a good horse up to a one turn mile. He’s tactical and has enough speed to keep himself in contention.” Rafael Hernandez rides, and the rail suits a tactical horse.
Miguel Clement saddles two. Intricate Spirit (post 7) won the Futurity (G3) on the turf at two, earning a Breeders’ Cup berth, and then won the Paradise Creek by 3¼ lengths in May after adding blinkers. He finished seventh in the Mahony (G3) at Saratoga last time and needs to bounce back under Manny Franco. Stablemate Big Destroyer (post 3), a Midshipman gelding, ran second in an allowance at Keeneland last time and gets Antonio Fresu.
The rest of the field includes Brendan Walsh’s Learntodiscover (post 2), seventh behind Two Out Hero in the Franklin Simpson, Graham Motion’s Proton (post 4), Michael Trombetta’s Doubting Thomas (post 8), sixth in the Gio Ponti, Arnaud Delacour’s Six O Clock (post 6), and two shippers from Santa Anita allowance races, George Weaver’s Iron Palace (post 5) and Kelsey Danner’s Feline Curious (post 9).
| Post | Horse | Sire | Jockey | Trainer | Last Start | Morning Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Two Out Hero | War Front | Rafael Hernandez | Kevin Attard | 2nd Franklin Simpson (G2) | TBC |
| 2 | Learntodiscover | Havana Grey | Ricardo Santana Jr. | Brendan Walsh | 7th Franklin Simpson (G2) | TBC |
| 3 | Big Destroyer | Midshipman | Antonio Fresu | Miguel Clement | 2nd Keeneland allowance | TBC |
| 4 | Proton | Astern | Samuel Marin | Graham Motion | 10th Gun Runner Stakes | TBC |
| 5 | Iron Palace | Palace Malice | Edgard Zayas | George Weaver | 5th Santa Anita allowance | TBC |
| 6 | Six O Clock | The Factor | Dylan Davis | Arnaud Delacour | 3rd Colonial Downs allowance | TBC |
| 7 | Intricate Spirit | Complexity | Manny Franco | Miguel Clement | 7th Mahony (G3) | TBC |
| 8 | Doubting Thomas | Caravaggio | Jorge Ruiz | Michael Trombetta | 6th Gio Ponti | TBC |
| 9 | Feline Curious | Kitten's Joy | Jose Lezcano | Kelsey Danner | 8th Santa Anita allowance | TBC |
Trainer Angles Across the Two Stakes
Miguel Clement is the trainer to follow on Saturday. He sends out three of the 18 runners across the two stakes: Caroline St. Beat in the Hill Prince plus Intricate Spirit and Big Destroyer in the Bricks and Mortar. Madaket Stables also co owns both Caroline St. Beat and Intricate Spirit.
Arnaud Delacour has a runner in each race too, with Lennox the Grey in the Hill Prince and Six O Clock in the Bricks and Mortar, and Antonio Fresu rides both Lennox the Grey and Big Destroyer.
How We’re Playing Belmont on Saturday
In the Hill Prince, Caroline St. Beat is our pick. His Nashville Derby win is the best form in the race by a distance, and Franco knows him well. Lennox the Grey is the main danger, and we’ll use Chambersville and Third Coast underneath in the exotics.
In the Bricks and Mortar, we side with Two Out Hero. He has the class from the Franklin Simpson, the right trip, and a rail draw that suits his tactical speed. Intricate Spirit is the price play if the blinkers spark him back to his best, and he has the class edge of a Grade 3 win.
Morning lines will follow once NYRA publishes them, and we’ll keep an eye on the weather because both races depend on the turf staying firm.
Bet Belmont Park With MyWinners
A $3 million winner in the Hill Prince, a brand new stakes named after a Horse of the Year, and a rebuilt Belmont Park just a short trip from Connecticut. Saturday at Belmont gives us plenty to bet, with Keeneland’s QEII Challenge Cup to follow the same afternoon.
Bet online at app.mywinners.com, on the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app on iOS or Android, or go here to find your nearest MyWinners or Winners venue in CT.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Hill Prince Stakes is Race 10 at Belmont Park on Saturday, October 10, 2026. First post on the 11 race card is 12:05pm ET.
Caroline St. Beat looks the horse to beat. He won the $3 million Nashville Derby (G2) at Kentucky Downs in September and has earned $1,175,875 from five starts. Official morning lines will follow from NYRA.
The Bricks and Mortar Stakes is a new $175,000 turf sprint for three year olds over seven furlongs at Belmont Park. It runs for the first time on October 10, 2026, and honors Bricks and Mortar, the 2019 Horse of the Year.
Tiz Dashing won the 2025 Hill Prince Stakes for trainer Barclay Tagg and jockey Javier Castellano. That running took place at Aqueduct.
Bet online at app.mywinners.com, on the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app for iOS or Android, or at a MyWinners or Winners venue in Connecticut. Online betting is open to customers aged 18 and over.
Image by Mike Lizzi, licensed under CC by 2.0.
