The Belmont Stakes, first run in 1867, is the oldest of the three Triple Crown races. In fact, it is the fourth oldest stakes race in North America.
The Belmont Stakes was originally run at 1 5/8 miles. The distance changed twice before 1926, when the present distance of 1 1/2 miles (12 furlongs) was established.
Of the 21 fillies that have entered the Belmont Stakes, only two have won-Ruthless (1867) and Tanya (1905).
The Belmont Stakes was first held at the Jerome Park Race Course. In 1890 it moved to Morris Park. The race remained there until the May 1905 opening of Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
The Belmont Stakes was originally run clockwise in keeping with the English tradition. It wasn't until 1921 that track officials switched the direction of the race.
Secretariat's 1973 Belmont victory set a race record that still stands (2:24). Additionally, his margin of victory of 31 lengths is not only the race record, but the largest in the history of American Grade 1 stakes races.
The fewest starters in the Belmont Stakes is 2 (in 1887, 1888, 1892, 1910 and 1920) while the most is 15 (in 1983).
The post parade that preceded the Belmont Stakes in 1880 was a new idea in horse racing to lure spectators and gamblers to the track. It met with immediate success and was adopted by racetracks across the country.
At the top of the list of the 12 Belmont Stakes winners who have sired another Belmont winner is Man O' War (1920). He sired three winners-American Flag (1925), Crusader (1926) and War Admiral (1937).
The richest Belmont Stakes purse ever, in 1992, totaled $1,764,800. The purse for the first running was $2,500.
Thirty-one horses have been eligible to win the Triple Crown coming into the Belmont Stakes but only eleven have succeeded.
In the past ten years, six horses won the Derby-Preakness double but were denied racing immortality in the Belmont Stakes. In his 1998 attempt, Real Quiet missed by a nose.
The largest crowd in New York racing history attended the Belmont Stakes in 2004, hoping to see Smarty Jones become the 12th Triple Crown winner. Unfortunately, he lost by a length to Birdstone.
Of the 138 runnings of the Belmont Stakes, 60 have been won by the race favorite (43.8 percent). However, only five favorites have won in the past 25 years (20 percent).
The most common color of winning horses at the Belmont Stakes is bay (53 winners), followed closely by chestnut (50 winners). High Echelon is the only roan to have won the race.
Since 1905, the Belmont Stakes post position with the most wins is 1 (23 wins) and the second most wins are 3 and 5 (13 wins each). Positions 10 and 11 are tied for last place (2 wins each).
The most popular first initial for winning Belmont runners is C (20 wins), the second most popular is S (17 wins) and the least popular are U, X, and Y (0 wins each).
Only nine horses bred outside the United States have won the Belmont Stakes. The latest was Victory Gallop (1998), who was bred in Canada.
Consecutive riding victories have been accomplished seven times in the Belmont Stakes. The latest jockey with back-to-back wins was Ron Turcotte, who rode to victory on Riva Ridge in 1972 and Secretariat in 1973.
Jockey James McLaughlin won three consecutive Belmont Stakes not just once, but twice-from 1882 to 1884 and again from 1886 to 1888. More recently, Laffit Pincay Jr. had a winning streak from 1982 to 1984.
Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro rode in every Belmont Stakes from 1938 to 1960 except one (in 1943 he was serving a year's suspension). He won six times.
The smallest win price in Belmont Stakes history is $2.10 on a $2 wager (paid by Count Fleet in 1943); the largest win price is $142.50 (paid by Sarava in 2002).
Thoroughbred racing's all-time leading female jockey, Julie Krone, is the only woman to have ridden in the Belmont Stakes.
Last year, for only the fourth time in 60 years, neither the Kentucky Derby winner nor the Preakness Stakes winner was running in the Belmont Stakes.
There has been an odds-on favorite in 30 runnings of the Belmont Stakes. Twelve of them won, nine came second and three came third.
When 18-year-old jockey Fernando Jara guided Jazil to victory last year, he became one of the youngest jockeys ever to win the Belmont Stakes.
In 1919, Sir Barton became the first horse to win the Triple Crown (however, the term "Triple Crown" didn't come into use until 1930).
Since 1978, when Affirmed won the Triple Crown, seven horses have won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but haven't been able to add the Belmont Stakes.
Since 1875 only 11 horses have won the elusive Triple Crown, while 42 have won two of the three races.
Since 1875 there have been eight years when it wasn't possible to have a Triple Crown winner-either two of the three races were held on the same day or the races were canceled for various reasons.
Gallant Fox has been the only Triple Crown winner (1930) to sire another Triple Crown winner (Omaha, who won in 1935).
Only two trainers have trained more than one Triple Crown winner: James Fitzsimmons, who trained Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935); and Ben A. Jones, who trained Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948).
Eddie Arcaro is the only jockey to have ridden more than one Triple Crown winner. He rode to victory on Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948.
No filly has ever won the Triple Crown. In 1980 Genuine Risk set the best record ever for a filly, winning the Kentucky Derby and running second in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Winning Colors (1988) and Genuine Risk (1980) are the only fillies to have run in all three Triple Crown races.
Do numbers mean anything to you? In 2006, all three Triple Crown races were won by the #8 horse.
Only two Triple Crown winners-War Admiral (1937) and Count Fleet (1943)-went undefeated during their three-year-old seasons.
In 1915, Regret won the Kentucky Derby and Rhine Maiden captured the Preakness Stakes-the only time that two different fillies have won the Derby and the Preakness in the same year.
Of the 11 horses that won the Triple Crown, 6 were chestnut.
Todd Pletcher leads all trainers with 32 horses nominated to this year's Triple Crown races.
On June 5, 1993, thoroughbred racing's all-time leading female jockey, Julie Krone, became the first woman to win one of the Triple Crown races when she rode to victory in the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair.
In 1978, Affirmed won the Belmont Stakes-and the Triple Crown-by only a neck. His fierce rival, Alydar, became known as the only horse to finish second in all three races.
The $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes, run at Aqueduct each April since 1925, is a major prep race for the Kentucky Derby. Eleven winners have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, and four of those captured the Triple Crown.
Six Hollywood Futurity winners have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, including Real Quiet, who came within a nose of winning the 1998 Triple Crown.
