Belmont Stakes Viewership Averages 3.7 Million on FOX

A peak audience of approximately 4.7 million viewers tuned into FOX for the June 6 Belmont Stakes (G1) from Saratoga Race Course during a 15-minute period surrounding the race, the network announced June 9. FOX viewership for its entire show, including FS1, averaged 3.73 million. Viewership dipped somewhat from 2025, when the program averaged 3.8 million viewers and peaked at 5 million. As in 2025 when Sovereignty was triumphant, the Belmont featured a successful Kentucky Derby (G1) winner who bypassed the Preakness Stakes (G1). This year in the Belmont, Golden Tempo delivered a last-to-first rally, much like he did at Churchill Downs in outrunning Renegade in the Derby five weeks earlier. Renegade showed behind Golden Tempo and Commandment in the Belmont. No participants from the Preakness returned in this year's third and final leg of the Triple Crown. Both the Preakness and the Derby showed increased viewership on NBC. The Preakness became the most-watched renewal of the race in the last five years, with an average of 5.5 million and a peak of 7.1 million. The Kentucky Derby, meanwhile, had peak viewership of 24.4 million and an average of 19.6 million viewers, topping last year’s audience by 11% and marking the largest viewership in 36 years. NBC's contract to televise the Preakness expires this year. NBC and FOX are two of the leading candidates to secure media rights to the second jewel of the Triple Crown.