The ongoing rain in Saratoga has really affected the 2025 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Indeed, for some it’s a nightmare, but for some, like the Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty, a muddy racetrack is a direct blessing from the horse racing gods. He’s set to have a rematch with Journalism, the winner of the Preakness Stakes, after their last race at the Kentucky Derby.

This should definitely give the colt a boost. Even with the tough weather, the 157th Belmont Stakes went ahead as scheduled on Saturday evening. The rainy conditions definitely made things a bit trickier for both the horses and the jockeys. But there’s one twist.

On X, DRF’s New York correspondent David Grening shared an update on today’s Belmont Stakes Racing Festival schedule, stating, “The Jaipur and Manhattan will be run Sunday.” It looks like the heavy rain has caused a delay for two big turf races—the Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes and the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes.

So, the races that were supposed to happen on Saturday, June 7, have now been moved to Sunday, June 8, because the turf at Saratoga Race Course is pretty soaked. The Jaipur Stakes, which is a six-furlong sprint and a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, is now set to take place as Race 12 this Sunday.

The Manhattan Stakes was originally planned for 1 3/16 miles on the outer turf, but now it’s been changed to 1 1/8 miles on the inner turf. It’ll be the 13th and last race of the day. Along with those changes, a few other turf races on Saturday’s card got shifted to the main dirt track, which was marked as sloppy and sealed. But how useful can this rain be to Sovereignty in the Belmont Stakes?

Might just casually take the top spot of the Belmont Stakes

With the conditions expected to be muddy and quite challenging, it looks like this is going to be a great Belmont Stakes for Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty. He finished with a time of 2:02.31 at Churchill Downs during the G1 race, really showing off his endurance and how well he can manage the track conditions. What’s the reason for that? So, it looks like the colt’s pedigree suggests he might really excel at longer distances and on tougher surfaces.

Sovereignty, a son of Into Mischief and out of Bernardini, really combines speed and stamina, making him a solid contender for the 1 1/4-mile Belmont Stakes. Indeed, the Kentucky Derby was definitely tough. His trainer, William Mott, shared his thoughts on the win, saying, “This one got there the right way. I mean, he’s done well, he’s a great horse, he comes from a great organization, and I can’t say enough about the horse and the organization that started him out and made this happen.”

Even if the rainy weather could help Sovereignty out a bit, the Belmont Stakes is shaping up to be quite a showdown with strong competitors like Journalism, who took the Preakness, and Baeza, who finished third at the Derby. We’ll just have to wait and see if he can maintain the performance he put on at Churchill Downs a few weeks back.