SARATOGA SPRINGS — The 157th Belmont Stakes wasn’t just a rematch of the Kentucky Derby, it was a virtual instant replay.

With Long Island-based jockey Junior Alvarado aboard, Sovereignty overtook Journalism in the stretch and ran away to a three-length victory, as Baeza again captured third.

Sovereignty, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, takes home $1.2 million of the total purse of $2 million.

He finished the mile and a quarter in 2:00.69 and paid $7.00 to win.

“We had a repeat of the Derby,” Mott said. “What it means is it’s for real. That’s three really good horses [including Baeza], and I’m glad he was able to put in a race like he did in the Derby.”

Sovereignty was sitting fifth near the end of the backstretch.

Journalism made his move to challenge pacesetter Rodriguez on the far turn and overtook him at the top of the stretch.

The Preakness winner had a clear view of the wire, but once again got chased down and left in the dust by Sovereignty.

“Like in the Derby, once I got the chance, [I] put him in right behind Journalism to make sure he has a target to run for home. I know he likes to fight. He likes to see what he’s supposed to do,” Alvarado said. “He was just exceptional today. I couldn’t believe how much horse I had the whole way around.”

The result adds fuel to the question of whether Mott and Godolphin ownership made the right decision in skipping the Preakness to let Sovereignty rest for the Belmont.

The racing world will never know if the horse would have become the 14th Triple Crown winner if he had run all three races, like Journalism did.

But that Sovereignty indeed ran away from his rival again gives Mott the conviction that their plan worked to perfection.

“It certainly did. This is home and this is the race we were pointed for after the Derby and fortunately it worked out very well,” Mott said. “We would have taken some criticism had we gotten beat today and he hadn’t have run in the Preakness. But it worked out, the horse was good. Junior rode him well and had confidence in him and when he cut him loose, the horse responded.

“I believe we beat a good field of horses. Journalism is really a good horse. I’ve watched him here this week. … I think he was ready to run today and he ran a good race and Sovereignty was good enough to run him down and get the job done.”

Michael Banahan, Goldolphin’s USA director of bloodstock, added, “I personally feel it’s fantastic to win two legs of the Triple Crown. Who knows what would have happened? That’s water under the bridge. We can’t dwell on that. All we can do is focus on our own horse and what we felt was the right thing to do.”

The exacta paid $6.60 and trifecta $6.90 as bank-interest bettors had the upper hand on long-shot seekers.

It was the fourth Triple Crown title for Mott, who won the Belmont in 2010 with Drosselmeyer and the Kentucky Derby in 2019 with Country House, in addition to Sovereignty’s two.

The victory continued a magical spring for Alvarado, the 39-year-old native Venezuelan who resides with his wife and three children in Garden City.

Last month he threw out the first pitch at a Yankees game, and he wears the logo of sponsor Hildebrandt’s ice cream shop of Williston Park on his riding pants.

During the week, he autographed cups of the flavor created for him — Junior Mint — and took selfies with racing fans in a tent near the grandstand.

On winning his first two Triple Crown races, Alvarado said, “It sounds surreal to be honest. There was a point in my career, probably five years ago, six years ago, I kinda [saw] everything fading away, to be honest, and here I am.”

Fox’s national broadcast included a mention that the Belmont Stakes will return to Saratoga for a third time in 2026. According to a statement, NYRA will announce the location of next year’s race in the coming days.