American stakes race for Thoroughbreds, part of the Triple Crown
For the upcoming race, see 2024 Belmont Stakes.
Horse race
Belmont Stakes
Grade I race
"The Test of the Champion" "The Test of Champions" "The Run for the Carnations" "The Third Jewel of the Triple Crown"
Location
Belmont Park Elmont, New York, U.S.
Inaugurated
June 19, 1867 (156 years ago) (1867-06-19)
Race type
Thoroughbred
Website
www.belmontstakes.com
Race information
Distance
1+1⁄2 miles (12 furlongs)
Record
2:24, Secretariat (1973) more
Surface
Dirt
Track
Left-handed
Qualification
3-year-old
Weight
Colt/Gelding: 126 pounds (57 kg); Filly: 121 pounds (55 kg)
Purse
US$ 2 million (2024)
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of 1+1⁄2 miles (12 furlongs; 2,414 metres). Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds (57 kg); fillies carry 121 pounds (55 kg). The race, nicknamed The Test of the Champion, The Test of Champions and The Run for the Carnations, is the traditional third and final leg of the Triple Crown. It is usually held on the first or second Saturday in June, five weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes. The 1973 Belmont Stakes and Triple Crown winner Secretariat holds the track record (which is also a world record on dirt) of 2:24.
The race covers one full lap of Belmont Park, known as "The Championship Track" because nearly every major American champion in racing history has competed on the racetrack. Belmont Park, with its large, wide, sweeping turns and long homestretch, is considered one of the fairest racetracks in America.[1] Despite the distance, the race tends to favor horses with tactical speed: relatively few winners close from far behind the early leaders.[2]
The attendance at the Belmont Stakes is among the American thoroughbred racing top-attended events. The 2004 Belmont Stakes drew a television audience of 21.9 million viewers, and had the highest household viewing rate since 1977 when Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown.[3]
American Pharoah won the 147th Belmont Stakes in 2015, becoming the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978. Justify won the 150th Belmont Stakes in 2018 to become the 13th Triple Crown champion.
The 156th running of the Belmont Stakes will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at Saratoga Race Course, due to construction at Belmont Park.[4][5]
^Edward L. Bowen and Richard Stone Reeves (2005). Belmont Park: A Century of Champions. Eclipse Press Blood-Horse publications. ISBN 978-1-58150-122-3. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
^Greenberg, Neil. "Analysis | This 15-1 long shot is poised to win the Belmont Stakes". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
^"Viewership of 2008 Belmont Stakes". Archived from the original on 2012-10-21.
^Bonesteel, Matt (6 December 2023). "Belmont Stakes moving to Saratoga in 2024 amid track reconstruction". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
^"Governor Hochul Welcomes the 2024 Belmont Stakes to the Saratoga Race Course" (Press release). Albany, NY: Office of New York Governor Kathy Hochul. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
The BelmontStakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide...
v t e The 2024 BelmontStakes will be the 156th running of the BelmontStakes, scheduled for June 8, 2024. This will be the first time the event will take...
– including all of the Triple Crown winners. Belmont hosted its largest crowd at the 2004 BelmontStakes, when 120,139 spectators saw Smarty Jones upset...
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just been about to enter Rich Strike in another race, the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park. "He's never been better; he loves this track," said Reed. "All...
starts; fifteen-time Group 1 winner Bold Forbes: 1976 Kentucky Derby and BelmontStakes winner Bold Ruler: leading sire of stakeswinners; born in the same barn...
Kentucky Derby at 50-1 odds and came second in the Preakness Stakes and third in the BelmontStakes. He had earnings of $2,228,637 and was inducted into the...
Stakes. He won the Triple Crown in a wire-to-wire victory at the 2015 BelmontStakes, becoming the first American Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978...
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classifications, behind only the Kentucky Derby and BelmontStakes. First held in 1864, it is the oldest stakes race in the United States specifically for 3-year-olds...
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by 1+1⁄2 lengths. He then shipped to Belmont Park with hopes of winning the Triple Crown in the 2014 BelmontStakes, but was stepped on by the horse next...
The August Belmont Trophy is awarded annually to the winning owner of the BelmontStakes now run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The silver bowl,...
when his son Swale won the Kentucky Derby and BelmontStakes. Another son, A.P. Indy, won the BelmontStakes and continued the sire line through descendants...
racehorse who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and came second in the BelmontStakes. Born at Fairthorne Farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania...
called the Belmont Park Branch. Train service to the Belmont Park station is operated only for special events such as the BelmontStakes. Starting in...
a thoroughbred racehorse owner and the founder and namesake of the BelmontStakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown of American Thoroughbred horse racing...
Stakes, but a few days later the New York racing officials banned Medina Spirit and his trainer Bob Baffert from participating in the BelmontStakes because...
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