The American Triple Crown of horse racing is coming to an end this weekend with the final race in the series and we have all the details on how you can watch this year's Belmont Stakes on TV or online.
Just like the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes is an American Grade 1 Thoroughbred race featuring 3-year old Thoroughbreds run on a 1.5 mile (2,400m) track at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The race, which is traditionally held five weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks after the Preakness, is the oldest of the three Triple Crown races and dates back to 1867.
As Medina Spirit is now facing disqualification after failing two separate drug tests after winning the Kentucky Derby back in May and Rombauer won last month's Preakness Stakes, there won't be a chance of any horse winning the Triple Crown at this year's Belmont Stakes. In fact, the last time a horse was able to win all three races was back in 2018 when Justify became the second horse to win the Triple Crown this century after American Pharoah did so in 2015.
Nonetheless, the 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes looks to be an interesting race with Essential Quality, who finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby, as the 2-1 morning-line favorite with the second post position. Meanwhile, the winner of this year's Preakness Stakes Rombauer drew the third post position and is the second choice to win this weekend's race with 3-1 odds. However, Todd Pletcher's Bourbonic drew the first post position and has 15-1 odds.
Whether you're rooting for Bourbonic, Essential Quality, Rombauer or any of the other five horses set to compete in this year's race, we'll show you how to watch the 2021 Belmont Stakes from anywhere in the world.
Belmont Stakes 2021: When and where?
This year's Belmont Stakes will be held on Saturday, June 5 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. NBC will begin its coverage of the race at 5pm ET / 2pm PT and post time for the Belmont Stakes is set for 6:49pm ET / 3:49pm PT.
How to watch the Belmont Stakes in the U.S.
If you live in the U.S. and have a cable subscription or even a digital antenna for that matter, you'll be able to watch the 2021 Belmont Stakes on NBC beginning at 5pm ET / 2pm PT. Die-hard horse racing fans can also tune in a bit earlier at 3pm ET / 12pm PT to watch the network's coverage of the preparations for this year's Belmont Stakes on NBCSN before the race begins at 6:49pm ET / 3:49pm PT.
Don't want to sign up for cable just to watch the Belmont Stakes this weekend? Don't worry as there are a number of streaming services, all at different price points, that will give you access to NBC so you can watch the race online. We've listed a few of our favorites below to make things easier for you.
- Hulu with Live TV - $64.99 per month - As well as giving you access to NBC, the service also includes its own Hulu Originals and supports a wide variety of streaming devices.
- Sling TV - $35 per month - In order to get access to NBC, you'll have to sign up for Sling TV's Sling Blue package. The service also lets you watch on three screens simultaneously and record live TV with its Cloud DVR.
- YouTube TV - $65 per month - YouTube TV gives you access to NBC as well as over 70 other TV channels and a free 14-day trial available.
- AT&T TV Now - $69.99 per month - AT&T TV Now's Entertainment package will give you access to NBC and the service allows you to watch over 45 live TV channels. You can also record up to 20 hours of content using its cloud DVR.
- FuboTV - starting at $64.99 per month. FuboTV gives you access to NBC as well as over 80 other channels. The service also includes a 7-day free trial so you can test it out for yourself.
Live stream the Belmont Stakes in Canada
Just like with the last month's Preakness Stakes, horse racing fans in Canada will be able to watch this year's Belmont Stakes on TSN and the network will begin its coverage of the race at 6pm ET / 3pm PT on TSN. However, you can also tune in a bit earlier to watch the Belmont Pre-Show at 5pm ET / 2pm PT.
If you're not a TSN subscriber yet, you can get access to the network's content for as little as $4.99 for a TSN Direct Day Pass or $19.99 for a monthly streaming subscription.
TSN Direct
TSN Direct offers Preakness Stakes streaming for just $5 with a Day Pass or subscribe monthly to catch this race and other sporting content.
How to watch the Belmont Stakes in the UK
UK viewers will be able to watch the 2021 Belmont Stakes on Sky Sports beginning at 9:15pm BST on Saturday.
If you don't want commit to a lengthy Sky Sports subscription, don't worry as you can watch the network's coverage of the race on NOW with a Sky Sports Day Membership for £9.98 or a Sky Sports Month Membership for £33.99. NOW will also let you stream the race on your computer, smartphone, smart TV or other streaming devices.
Sky Sports
Sky Sports will show the action from Belmont Park plus a ton of other exclusive sports coverage throughout the year.
NOW Sports Membership
Watch Sky Sports' coverage of the Belmont Stakes online with a NOW Sports Membership. Watch one day's coverage for £10 or snag a monthly pass for £34.
How to watch the Belmont Stakes from anywhere
We have all the details on how you can watch the 2021 Belmont Stakes in the U.S., Canada and the UK further up in this guide. However, if you're currently traveling or live in a country without an official broadcast option you won't be able to watch this weekend's horse racing.
That's where a VPN (Virtual Private Network) can really come in handy. They allow you to virtually change the IP address of your laptop, tablet or mobile to one that's back in your home country which will let you watch as if you were back there.
VPNs are incredibly easy to use and have the added benefit of providing you with an additional layer of security when surfing the web. There are also a lot of options but we recommend ExpressVPN as our top pick due to its speed, security and ease of use. The service can even be used on a wide array of operating systems and devices (e.g. iOS, Android, Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, Roku, game consoles, etc). Sign up for ExpressVPN now and enjoy a 49% discount and 3 months FREE with an annual subscription. You can even test it out for yourself thanks to the service's 30-day money back guarantee. Looking for more options?
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No matter where in the world you may be, a VPN is one of the easiest ways to watch the 2021 Belmont Stakes. Get in on this deal now!
Belmont Stakes 2021 Post Positions and Odds
- Bourbonic (15-1)
- Essential Quality (2-1)
- Rombauer (3-1)
- Hot Rod Charlie (7-2)
- France Go Ina (30-1)
- Known Agenda (6-1)
- Rock Your World (9-2)
- Overtook (20-1)
Source: androidcentral