Sovereignty vs. Journalism in the Belmont gives horse racing a Kentucky Derby rematch

Horse racing is getting a Kentucky Derby rematch in the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday to close out the Triple Crown.

Derby winner Sovereignty and runner-up Journalism, who won the Preakness two weeks later, headline the field of eight in the Belmont. Add in Baeza, and the top three finishers from the first Saturday in May are involved.

“We’re delighted to have the first three horses out of the Derby challenging each other again,” said Michael Banahan of Godolphin, which owns Sovereignty. “It's a quality race. ... It should set up well, and may the best horse win.”

Journalism opened as the 8-5 morning line favorite with Sovereignty the second choice at 4-1. Journalism won the Preakness run without Sovereignty after owners and trainer Bill Mott opted to give their horse extra rest.

The intent was to focus on the Belmont rather than chase the chance for Sovereignty to become the sport's 14th Triple Crown champion and first since Justify in 2018.

“We felt that the best thing for him and to have a career through the whole season, and maybe into next year as well, was spacing his races a little bit,” Banahan said. “Bill Mott, who’s trained horses for us for a long time, is very judicious about where he wants to place his horses. And we put a lot of faith in the recommendations that he would give us.”

Michael McCarthy-trained Journalism is the only horse running in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year. And he is the favorite for a reason.

“Journalism is a very tough horse,” said John Shirreffs, who trains Baeza. “One thing about Journalism, (if) he runs his race (like in) Kentucky, Pimlico, he’s very tough. He’s solid. So, it’s going to be a very difficult horse to beat.”

Shirrefs said Baeza is emerging and developing, hoping the half-brother of last year's Belmont winner, Dornoch, can stride along and get past Sovereignty and Journalism this time.

“Hopefully we get out of the gate well and get a nice pace,” Shirrefs said. “It’s just the how the race unfolds and him not getting into any trouble.”

Long shot Heart of Honor is running again after finishing fifth in the Preakness three weeks ago. New to the Triple Crown trail are Hill Road, Uncaged, Crudo and Rodriguez, who was scratched from the Derby with a minor foot bruise that also caused him to miss the Preakness.

Banahan expects Rodriguez to go to the lead, as so many of Hall of Fame and two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert's top horses do, and provide the main speed.

“That horse is going to be ready,” Chad Brown, trainer of Hill Road, said of Rodriguez. “You can be assured of that. And it sure looks like he’s by far the fastest horse in the race.”

Brown has won the Preakness twice but never the Belmont. After going to Saratoga with his parents while growing up and getting into horse racing as a result, he's hoping to end his drought at his home track.

“We have a very unique time in history where there’ll be three Belmont Stakes run total at Saratoga before you’ll never see another one again,” Brown said. “So, to be part of history with that, that would be extra special.”

AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

Baeza trains before the running of the Belmont Stakes horse race in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Journalism trains before the running of the Belmont Stakes horse race in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Sovereignty trains before the running of the Belmont Stakes horse race in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Journalism trains before the running of the Belmont Stakes horse race in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Sovereignty trains before the running of the Belmont Stakes horse race in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 12, 2026--

Today, a leading global wedding technology platform The Knot Worldwide (TKWW), announced the appointment of Michael Pickrum as Chief Financial Officer. With more than 25 years of experience in strategic finance, operations, and business development within the media and technology industries, Pickrum will oversee TKWW’s global finance organization. Pickrum joins TKWW at an exciting moment as the company celebrates its 30-year anniversary and continues to grow and scale with a focus on product innovation.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260112910392/en/

Pickrum joins TKWW from Maximum Effort, the media, marketing, and investment company co-founded by Ryan Reynolds, where he served as Chief Financial Officer. Before this, he held the roles of COO and CFO at ExecOnline, Inc., a B2B online leadership development company. Pickrum spent over 17 years at BET/Viacom, where he served as EVP and CFO starting in 2007. Prior to that, he was COO of BET Interactive. He earned his master's and bachelor's degrees in engineering from Stanford University and his MBA from The Wharton School.

“I am thrilled to be joining TKWW at such an important time in the company’s journey,” said Michael Pickrum, CFO, TKWW. “There is incredible power in celebrations and I am looking forward to working with the exceptional team at TKWW to further enable our millions of couples and 900,000 small business owners around the world to celebrate life’s most meaningful moments.”

“Michael is a world-class financial and operations leader with an impressive track record of driving strategic growth and operational excellence across media and technology companies,” said Raina Moskowitz, CEO, TKWW. “As we continue to grow and scale with a focus on product innovation, Michael’s deep expertise in strategic planning, analysis, and capital allocation will be critical to our ongoing success. We are thrilled to have him join our team and help guide TKWW through our next phase of growth.”

Pickrum is based in New York, NY and reports to TKWW Chief Executive Officer Raina Moskowitz.

About The Knot Worldwide
Across North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia, The Knot Worldwide champions the power of celebration. The company’s global family of brands provides best-in-class products, services, and content to take celebration planning from inspiration to action. Through its wedding brands, including The Knot, WeddingWire, Bodas.net, Hitched.co.uk, Mariages.net, Matrimonio.com, and others, the company offers an extensive database of hundreds of thousands of wedding professionals to assist couples in organizing the happiest day of their lives. We have a brand for every kind of celebration—from booking a birthday party, to planning a wedding, to preparing to become a parent, and every moment in between.

Michael Pickrum, courtesy of The Knot Worldwide