Belmont Stakes
The first Belmont in the United States
was not the famous stakes race or even the
man for whom it is named. Rather, the first
Belmont was a race horse that arrived in
California in 1853 from his breeding grounds
of Franklin, Ohio. The Belmont Stakes, however,
are named after August Belmont, a financier
who made quite a name and fortune for himself
in New York politics and society. Obviously,
Mr. Belmont was also quite involved in horse
racing, and his imprint is even intertwined
within the history of the Kentucky Derby.
The Belmont's Age
One thing the Belmont does have over the
Derby is that it is the oldest of the three
Triple Crown events. The Belmont predates
the Preakness by six years, the Kentucky
Derby by eight. The first running of the
Belmont Stakes was in 1867 at Jerome Park,
on, believe it or not, a Thursday. At a
mile and five furlongs, the conditions included
an entry fee of $200, half forfeit with
$1,500 added. Furthermore, not only is the
Belmont the oldest Triple Crown race, but
it is the fourth oldest race overall in
North America. The Phoenix Stakes, now run
in the fall at Keeneland as the Phoenix
Breeders' Cup, was first run in 1831. The
Queen's Plate in Canada made its debut in
1860, while the Travers in Saratoga opened
in 1864. However, since there were gaps
in sequence for the Travers, the Belmont
is third only to the Phoenix and Queen's
Plate in total runnings.
Some Monumental Belmont Moments
In 1890, the Belmont was moved from Jerome
Park to Morris Park, a mile and three-eighths
track located a few miles east of what is
now Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. The
Belmont was held at Morris Park until Belmont
Park's opening in 1905.
- Here's a tidbit you didn't see
in Derby or Preakness history.
When Grey Lag won the Belmont
in 1921, it marked the first running
of the Belmont Stakes in the counter-clockwise
manner of American fashion. This
53rd running was a mile and three-eighths
over the main course; previous
editions at Belmont Park had been
run clockwise, in accordance with
English custom, over a fish-hook
course which included part of
the training track and the main
dirt oval.
- The first post parade in this
country came in the 14th running
of the Belmont in 1880. Until then
the horses went directly from paddock
to post.
- The Belmont has been run at various
distances. From 1867 tp 1873 it
was 1 5/8 miles; from 1874 to 1889
it was 1 1/2 miles; from 1890 through
1892, and in 1895, it was held at
1 1/4 miles; from 1896 through 1925
it was 1 5/8 miles; since 1925 the
Belmont Stakes has been a race of
1 1/2 miles.
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Champion Sires
As we saw in the breeding section of the Call To The Derby Post Betting How-To
Page, champions horses breed champion horses. This certainly holds form in the
Belmont Stakes. A total of eleven Belmont Stakes winners have sired at least
one other Belmont winner.
- Man o'
War heads the list of Belmont
champion sires. Not only did he
win the race himself in 1920,
but three of his subsequent sires
won it as well: American Flag
in 1925, Crusader in 1926 and
War Admiral in 1937, who went
on to win the Triple Crown.
- Commando
won the 1901 running, then sired
Peter Pan, the 1907 champ and the
Colin, the 1908 winner.
1930 champion Gallant Fox sired
both Omaha (1935) and Granville
(1936).
- Count Fleet
won the 1943 edition, and then sired
back-to-back Belmont winners with
Counterpoint (1951) and One Count
(1952).
- 1977 Triple
Crown winner Seattle Slew sired
a Call To The Derby Post favorite
in Swale, who won both the Derby
and the Belmont in 1984, as well
as A.P. Indy, who won the Belmont
in 1992. 1999 Belmont winner Lemon
Drop Kid is also a descendant of
the Slew.
- The following
horses have sired one Belmont winner
each: Duke of Magenta of 1878 sired
Eric (1889); Spendthrift of 1879
sired Hastings (1896); Hastings
then followed his again by siring
Masterman, the 1902 winner. The
Finn of 1915 sired Zev (1923); Sword
Dancer of 1959 sired Damascus (1967);
last but not least, Triple Crown
winner Secretariat of 1973 sired
Risen Star, the 1988 winner.
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Money at the Belmont
Oh, have times changed. The purse for the first running of the Belmont was $1,500
added with a total purse of $2,500, with the winner's share taken by the filly
Ruthless. The lowest winner's share in Belmont history was the $1,825 earned
by The Finn in 1915. The Belmont set an opposite record in 1992, in which the
richest Belmont purse ever totaled 1,764,800. Five times in Belmont history only
two horses entered the race: 1887, 1888, 1892, 1910 and sadly, 1920, the year
Man O'War triumphed. The largest field, on the other hand, was 15 in 1983, when
Caveat defeated Slew O' Gold. In 1875 14 horses ran, when Calvin outdueled stablemate
Aristides, that year's winner of the inaugural Kentucky Derby. The Belmont's
lowest paid winner: Count Fleet in 1943, who paid a paltry $2.10. The Belmont's
highest winner: Sherluck in 1961, who dished out $132.10. A favorite's race:
Of the 129 Belmont runnings through 1997, the favorite had won 58 times, including
9 out of the last 25. There have been some strange twists of betting in Belmont
history. Since the advent of mutuels in New York in 1940 there have been six
times when no place or show betting was taken on the Belmont Stakes. The last
time there was no show wagering was in 1978 when Affirmed and Alydar held their
famous confrontation. There was also no show betting when Secretariat won his
Triple Crown in 1973; no wonder--Secretariat won by a record 31 lengths. Show
betting was also eliminated in 1957 when Gallant Man defeated Bold Ruler, and
also in 1953 when Native Dancer won. In 1943, believe it or not, there was no
place or show wagering when Triple Crown winner Count Fleet went off $.05 to
the dollar and won by 25 lengths. To wrap it up, Whirlaway completed his Triple
Crown victory in 1941 without show betting. In other words, by the time horses
dominate the Derby and Preakness, there just might not be that many challengers
when the horse goes to complete the sweep. Since 1940 there have also been 30
horses listed as odds-on favorites in the Belmont Stakes. In 1957, there were
two: Gallant Man, who won at 19-20, and Bold Ruler, who finished third at 17-20.
Of these 30, only 12 went on to win. The highest on-track mutuel handle on the
Belmont: 1993. A total of $2,793,320 was bet on the Belmont that year, with $1,409,970
wagered on win, place and show betting, and $1,293,954 on the daily double, exacta
and triple.
The Fastest Belmont
Who else? Secretariat set a world-record that still stands for the mile and a
half distance on a dirt track at 2:24. (He had finished a mile and a quarter
at 1:59, faster than his own Derby record of 1:59 2/5.)
Belmont Trophies
"The Belmont Stakes trophy is a Tiffany-made silver bowl, with cover,
18 inches high, 15 inches across and 14
inches at the base. Atop the cover is a silver figure of Fenian, winner of
the third running of the Belmont Stakes in 1869. The bowl is supported by three
horses representing the three foundation thoroughbreds--Eclipse, Herod and
Matchem. The trophy, a solid silver bowl originally crafted by Tiffany's, was
presented by the Belmont family as a perpetual award for the Belmont Stakes
in 1926. It was the trophy August Belmont's Fenian won in 1869 and had remained
with the Belmont family since that time. The winning owner is given the option
of keeping the trophy for the year their horse reigns as Belmont champion."
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