by Stephen Murphy

Created on: February 02, 2010

The Belmont Stakes is the final and most demanding leg of the Triple Crown series.  It is named after a man called Belmont who was a leading banker and racing entrepreneur.  He was the first President of the Jockey Club in 1867.

The Belmont Stakes are run in New York at  Jerome Park (1867 to 1889) and  Morris Park (1890 to 1904) .  It moved to a nearby facility, Morris Park Racecourse and remained at that facility until 2005, when it was moved to the new Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. There were two years in which the race was not ran, In 1911 and 1912.

The distances and times vary as well in history.  The first Belmont Stakes was run at a mile and five furlongs from 1867 -'73.  After that, it was run:  a mile and a quarter in 1890-'92, 1895, and in 1904-'05.  The distance was a mile and a furlong in 1893-'94; a mile and three furlongs from 1896 to 1903 and from 1906-'25. The current distance of a mile and half was established in 1926.

Twenty-nine horses have been eligible to win the Triple Crown leading into the Belmont Stakes, but only eleven have succeeded. Recently horses who have won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but did not win the Belmont were: Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998, Charismatic in 1999, War Emblem in 2002, Funny Cide in 2003 and Smarty Jones in 2004.  It is very difficult it is to win all three major races in one year, and the last horse to win a Triple Crown was in 1978, when Affirmed swept the three-race series.

The fastest horse was Secretariat, who won in 1973 by 31-lengths.  It was not only a world record on a dirt track, but the largest winning length in Belmont history.   With the win he became the ninth horse to capture the Triple Crown.

The largest crowd at the Belmont Stakes was 120,139 in 2004. They came to see Smarty Jones become Racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner. However, it was not to be and Birdstone won; Smarty Jones finished second.

There have been small fields and large fields at the Belmont.  There have been five two-horse fields: 1887, 1888, 1892, and 1910.  The largest has been 15 in 1983.  In 2009 there were only 10 horses, which Summer Bird was the champion.

Every important competition needs a trophy worthy of the magnitude of the event.  The National hockey League has the Stanley Cup; the National Football League has the Lombardi trophy.  The Belmont Stakes trophy has a permanent trophy, a solid silver bowl and cover made by Tiffany & Co. It remains with the owner of the winning horse until a new winner is crowned a year later.  

The bowl itself is 18 inches tall, 15 inches across and 14 inches at the base. On top, the cover is a silver figure of 1869 Belmont winner Fenian. The bowl itself is held up by three horses -Herod, Eclipse and Matchem.  They represent the respective superior grandsons of the three Sires of Thoroughbreds: the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Barb.  The trophy was originally presented by the Belmont family as an n award for the Belmont Stakes in 1926. The significance, it was the trophy August Belmont received when Fenian won the third running. See it here.

The Belmont Stakes have been the cornerstone to the Triple Crown.  The 2009 race was no different.  From Secretarist winning by 31 Lengths, to over 100,000 attendees, the traditions of past inspires jockeys and race enthusiasts, and it promises to be exciting for many years to come.

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