ITM Telegraph — Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Your daily briefing on what to watch, read, and bet from In The Money Media and the world of horse racing.
🏇 Belmont Week Is Nearly Here
The draw is Sunday. The race is Saturday. And the coverage starts now. Two new Belmont previews dropped this week — here’s what you need to know from both.
Belmont Top 5 — PTF and JK
The quick version: Renegade is number one. Chief Wallabee is number two. Golden Tempo is three — and both PTF and JK are against him at the price. Emerging Market is the one JK keeps circling back to. Commandment rounds out the five with the most to gain from a pace change.
JK’s key insight: the Derby closers — Golden Tempo, Renegade, Ocelli — all benefited from a pace collapse. The horses who were close to that fast pace and survived it are the ones to watch coming back. That points to Chief Wallabee and Emerging Market.
PTF’s key insight: Renegade’s “bad trip” in the Derby is offset by the pace meltdown he closed into. “A negative and a positive cancel each other out.” He’ll use him but won’t make him the top pick.
Belmont First Look — PTF and Nick Tammaro
The deeper dive. Nick and PTF go horse by horse through the probables with a focus on figures, pace, and price. The highlights:
Renegade at 15/8 — should be favored, but shouldn’t be this far clear of the field. Nick: “Yes, he should be favored at this point, but there shouldn’t be a big disparity between he and anybody else.”
Golden Tempo at 5/1 — Nick: “He doesn’t have a popsicle’s chance in Haiti.” PTF is less extreme but agrees the price is wrong. Both expect him to be overbet in the win pool, which creates value elsewhere.
Chief Wallabee at 11/2 — Nick would buy at that price. His threshold is 9/2. Bill Mott targeting back-to-back Belmonts after winning with Sovereignty last year.
Commandment at 6/1 — the sleeper. Nick says Luis Saez was a bad fit in the Derby and spent too much energy early. Will have a different jockey in the Belmont. Could be the one that slips under the radar at 10/1 on the tote but the bookies are keeping him safe for now.
Emerging Market at 7/1 — lost a shoe in the Derby, moved too early. Nick: “He’s a significant bet back.” The worry: can he see out the mile and a quarter?
Powershift at 25/1 — the Pletcher rabbit who might steal it. “He handily outworked Renegade last week.” Saez gets the mount. The Lasix question is a valid concern.
Pletcher’s Belmont record: His four winners ran Derby/Oaks weekend and skipped the Preakness. Rags to Riches (2007), Palace Malice (2013), Tapwrit (2017), Mo Donegal (2022). Renegade fits the template.
📰 Around the Sport
Golden Tempo finalizes stud deal with Lane’s End. The Derby winner will stand at one of Kentucky’s premier nurseries once his racing career concludes. (TDN)
Belmont Stakes Racing Festival: five days, 25 stakes. Wednesday June 3 through Sunday June 7 at Saratoga. 18 graded stakes, 10 Grade 1s, $11 million in purses. FOX has wall-to-wall coverage. This is the third and final year at Saratoga before Belmont Park reopens in September. (NYRA)
Draw is Sunday, June 1 at 5 PM ET. Post positions will reshape the market. We’ll have full analysis.
Sovereignty pointing to the Stephen Foster (G1) on June 27 at Churchill Downs. Last year’s TC winner worked 4f in :48.9 at Saratoga Saturday. (Horse Racing Nation)
Chad Brown’s Belmont trio all worked Saturday: Emerging Market at Saratoga’s Oklahoma track, Ottinho and Growth Equity at Belmont. Brown on his approach: “I’m looking at it like I always do — do these horses belong in this particular race given how they are doing training right now?” (TDN)
🎙️ Also From ITM Recently
👉 A Boy, a Racehorse, and a Story That Doesn’t End — Paul Halloran’s “Cody’s Wish”
👉 Preakness 2026 Recap — PTF and JK
Belmont coverage PLUS the first month of Saratoga — included with ITM Plus. Horse Player Happy Hour returns Belmont week Friday.
