TheBelmont Stakes is an AmericanGrade I stakesrace for three-year-oldThoroughbreds run atBelmont Park inElmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of1+1⁄2 miles (12 furlongs; 2,414 metres).Colts andgeldings carry a weight of 126 pounds (57 kg);fillies carry 121 pounds (55 kg). The race, nicknamedThe Test of the Champion,[1]The Test of Champions[2] andThe Run for the Carnations, is the traditional third and final leg ofthe Triple Crown. It is usually held on the first or second Saturday in June, five weeks after theKentucky Derby and three weeks after thePreakness Stakes. The 1973 Belmont Stakes and Triple Crown winnerSecretariat 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.[3] Despite the distance, the race tends to favor horses with tactical speed: relatively few winners close from far behind the early leaders.[4]
The attendance at the Belmont Stakes is among theAmerican 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 whenSeattle Slew won the Triple Crown.[5]
The157th running of the Belmont Stakes was on Saturday, June 7, 2025, atSaratoga Race Course. The 2026 edition of the race will also be held at Saratoga Race Course as the reconstruction of Belmont Park will not be completely finished.[6]
The first Belmont Stakes was held atJerome Park Racetrack inthe Bronx, built in 1866 by stock market speculatorLeonard Jerome (1817–1891) and financed byAugust Belmont Sr. (1816–1890), for whom the race was named. The first race in 1867 saw thefillyRuthless win, while the following year was won byGeneral Duke.[7] The first post parade in theUnited States was at the 14th Belmont, in 1880. The race continued to be held at Jerome Park until 1890, when it was moved to the nearby facility,Morris Park Racecourse.[8] The 1895 race was almost not held because of new laws that banned bookmaking in New York: it was eventually rescheduled for November 2.[9] The race remained at Morris Park Racecourse until the May 1905 opening of the newBelmont Park, 430-acre (1.7 km2) racetrack in Elmont, New York, onLong Island, just outside the New York City borough ofQueens.[8] When anti-gambling legislation was passed in New York State, Belmont Racetrack was closed, and the race was cancelled in 1911 and 1912.[10]
The first winner of theTriple Crown wasSir Barton, in 1919, before the series was recognized as such.[11] In 1920, the Belmont was won by the greatMan o' War, who won by 20 lengths, setting a new stakes and American record, while under a stout pull.[12]
Starting in 1926, the winner of the Belmont Stakes has been presented withAugust Belmont Trophy. The owner may keep the trophy for one year, and also receives a silver miniature for permanent use.[8]
The term Triple Crown was first used whenGallant Fox won the three races in 1930, but the term did not enter widespread use until 1935 when his sonOmaha repeated the feat. Sir Barton was then honored retroactively.[13] Since 1931, the order of Triple Crown races has been the Kentucky Derby first, followed by the Preakness Stakes, and then the Belmont Stakes. Prior to 1931, the Preakness was run before the Derby eleven times. On May 12, 1917, and again on May 13, 1922, the Preakness and the Derby were run on the same day. On eleven occasions, the Belmont Stakes was run before the Preakness Stakes.[14] The date of each event is now set by theKentucky Derby, which is always held on the first Saturday in May. ThePreakness Stakes is currently held two weeks later; and the Belmont Stakes is held three weeks after the Preakness (five weeks after the Derby). The earliest possible date for the Derby is May 1, and the latest is May 7; the earliest possible date for the Belmont is thus June 5, and the latest is June 11.[15] In 2020, due to the cancellation of the original dates due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the order changed with the Belmont first on June 20, the Kentucky Derby on September 5 and the Preakness on October 3—all with no spectators—before the Triple Crown races resumed their normal schedule in 2021.
In 1937, War Admiral became the fourth Triple Crown winner after winning the Belmont in a new track record time of 2:28 3/5.[16] In the 1940s, four Triple Crown winners followed:Whirlaway in 1941,Count Fleet in 1943,Assault in 1946 andCitation in 1948. Count Fleet won the race by a then-record margin of twenty-five lengths.[17] He also set a stakes record of 2:28 1/5, a record tied by Citation. In 1957, the stakes record was smashed whenGallant Man ran the Belmont in 2:26 3/5 in a year when the Triple Crown series was split three ways.[18]
The Belmont Stakes race was held atAqueduct Racetrack from 1963 to 1967, while the track at Belmont was restored and renovated.
The largest crowd of the 20th century was in 1971 with over 80,000 people, supplemented by the city'sLatino community, there to cheer on their new hero,Cañonero II, theVenezuelan colt who had won theKentucky Derby andPreakness Stakes and was poised to win the U.S.Triple Crown. However, due to a foot infection that had bothered the horse for several days, Cañonero II failed to win the Triple Crown when he struggled across the finish line in 4th place behindPass Catcher, ridden byWalter Blum. Despite this loss, Cañonero II was named the winner of the firstEclipse Award for Outstanding Three-Year-Old Male Horse.[19]
On June 9, 1973,Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by thirty-one lengths in a record time of 2:24, becoming a Triple Crown champion, ending a 25-year gap betweenCitation, the Belmont and Triple Crown winner in 1948. Secretariat's record still stands as the fastest running of the Belmont Stakes and an American record for1+1⁄2 miles on the dirt.[20] In 1977,Seattle Slew became the first horse to win the Triple Crown while undefeated. Affirmed was the last winner of the Triple Crown in the 20th century, taking the Belmont Stakes in 2:26 4/5 on June 10, 1978. Ridden by eighteen-year-old Steve Cauthen, Affirmed defeated rival Alydar with Jorge Velásquez in the saddle. At the time the race was the third-slowest start and the third-fastest finish with the quarter in 25, the half in 50, 3/4 in 1:14, the mile in 1:37 2/5.[21]
In 1988, Secretariat's sonRisen Star won the Belmont in 2:26 2/5, then the second-fastest time in the history of the race. The next year,Easy Goer lowered the mark for second-fastest time to 2:26. Easy Goer also holds aBeyer Speed Figure of 122 for the race, the best of any Triple Crown race since these ratings were first published in 1987.[22]
The crowd packs the facility when a Triple Crown is on the line
For three years in a row, horses came to the Belmont Stakes with a Triple Crown on the line only to fail. In 2002, Belmont Park hosted what was then the largest crowd in its history when 103,222 sawWar Emblem lose to longshot Sarava after stumbling at the start. In 2003, 101,864 watchedFunny Cide finish third behindEmpire Maker. In 2004, the attendance record was shattered when 120,139 people sawSmarty Jones upset byBirdstone.[23]
In 2007,Rags to Riches became the first filly to win the race since Tanya in 1905. Three more failed Triple Crown bids followed: in 2008,Big Brown lost toDa' Tara; in 2012,I'll Have Another was withdrawn due to injury; and in 2014,California Chrome was beaten byTonalist. This fueled debate about whether the series needed to be changed, for example by lengthening the period between races.[24]
American Pharoah won the 2015 race, becoming the 12th horse in history to win the Triple Crown and the first in 37 years. The crowd that year was limited for the first time, to 90,000.[25] His time of 2:26.65 was the sixth-fastest in Belmont Stakes history, and the second-fastest time for a Triple Crown winner.[26] In 2018, Justify became the 13th Triple Crown winner and only the second horse to do so while undefeated.[27]
Justify won the150th Belmont Stakes in 2018 to become the 13th Triple Crown champion.
The 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes took place without in-person fans on June 20, 2020,[28] delayed from June 6 as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic. Leading to the announcement,NYRA considered various dates after evaluating the spring-summer meeting at Belmont Park and after the other three majors set their respective dates: the Kentucky Derby moving to September 5, the Preakness Stakes moving to October 3, and the Breeders' Cup Classic slated for November 7. GovernorAndrew Cuomo of New York announced on May 16 that horse racing tracks statewide, including Belmont Park, would be permitted to resume races without in-person fans on June 1.[29] The 2020 contest also marked the first time in history that the Belmont Stakes served as the Triple Crown's opening leg, with its running length shortened accordingly to1+1⁄8 miles (9 furlongs),[30] its shortest distance since 1894.[31]
TheNew York Racing Association held both the2024 Belmont Stakes and the2025 Belmont Stakes atSaratoga Race Course because of ongoing construction and renovations at Belmont Park.[32] The purse of the race was increased to US$2 million with the winner receiving $1,200,000. It was run at a shorter distance of1+1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) instead of the usual1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) due to the smaller size of the Saratoga dirt track.[32][33][34]
On June 13, 2025, it was announced that the 2026 Belmont Stakes would also be held at Saratoga Race Course.[35][36]
The purse for the first running in 1867 was $1,500 added,[37] meaning the purse was supplemented by nomination and entry fees. This made the total purse $2,500, with the winner receiving $1,850. The purse increased sharply in the Roaring Twenties, from Man O'War's earnings of $7,950 in 1920 to Gallant Fox's take of $66,040 in 1930. Purses declined as a result of the Great Depression, with War Admiral earning only $28,020 in 1937, then began to recover. Throughout the sixties and early seventies, the value to the winner was roughly $100,000, depending on the added money generated by entry fees (larger fields thus leading to higher prize money). The purse was repeatedly raised in the eighties and nineties, reaching $500,000 added, with the winner receiving roughly $400,000.[7] In 1998, the purse was changed to $1,000,000 guaranteed, with the winner receiving $600,000. In 2014, the purse was raised to $1,500,000.[38]
With one exception, the race has been run at a level weight of 126 pounds (with a 5-pound allowance for fillies) since 1900. The 126 pounds comes from theEnglish Classics, where the standard weight is 9 stone, with one stone equaling 14 pounds. In 1913, the Belmont was run as a handicap with the winner carrying only 109 pounds compared to the runner-up carrying 126 pounds. Races run prior to 1900 had varied weight conditions.[7]
The first post parade in the United States was at the 14th Belmont, in 1880. Before 1921, the race was run in the clockwise tradition of English racing. Since then, the race has been run in the American, or counter-clockwise, direction.
The Belmont Stakes is traditionally called "The Test of the Champion" because it is by far the longest of the Triple Crown races (1.5 miles–a full lap around the enormous Belmont main track). It is also one of the longest first-class races on dirt in the United States. Most three-year-olds are unaccustomed to the distance, and lack the experience, if not thestamina, to maintain a winning speed for so long. In a long race such as the Belmont, positioning of the horse and the timing of the move to chase for the lead can be critical.
It is also known as "The Run for the Carnations" because the winning horse is draped with a blanket ofwhite carnations after the race, in similar fashion to the blanket ofroses andblack-eyed Susans for the Derby and Preakness, respectively.
The winning owner is ceremonially presented with the silver winner'strophy, designed byPaulding Farnham forTiffany and Co. It was first presented toAugust Belmont Jr. in 1896 and donated by the Belmont family for annual presentation in 1926.
Despite the fact that the Belmont Stakes is the oldest of the Triple Crown races, its traditions have been more subject to change. Until 1996, the post parade song was "The Sidewalks of New York". From 1997 to 2009, the song was changed to a recording byFrank Sinatra of the "Theme fromNew York, New York" in an attempt to appeal to younger fans.[39] In 2010, the song was changed toJay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" sung byJasmine V[40] before reverting to "Theme fromNew York, New York" from 2011[41] through the present. This tradition is similar to the singing of the state song at the post parades of the first two Triple Crown races: "My Old Kentucky Home" at the Kentucky Derby and "Maryland, My Maryland" at the Preakness Stakes.[8] The change of song gave rise to "the myth of Mamie O'Rourke", a reference to a character in the lyrics of "The Sidewalks of New York." BeforeAmerican Pharoah won the Triple Crown in 2015, some claimed that changing the official Belmont song "cursed" the Triple Crown and was why no horse had won sinceAffirmed in 1978. Others note that there was no Triple Crown winner between 1979 and 1996, even though "Sidewalks" was still played.[42]
Along with the change of song in 1997, the official drink was also changed, from the "White Carnation" to the "Belmont Breeze."[43]The New York Times reviewed both cocktails unfavorably, calling the Belmont Breeze "a significant improvement over the nigh undrinkable White Carnation" despite the fact that it "tastes like a refined trashcan punch".[44] In 2011, the Belmont Breeze was again changed to the current official drink known as the "Belmont Jewel."
While the origin of the white carnation as the official flower of the Belmont Stakes is unknown, traditionally, pure white carnations stand for love and luck. It takes approximately 700 "select" carnations imported fromColombia to create the 40-pound blanket draped over the winner of the Belmont Stakes. The NYRA has long used ThePennock Company, a wholesale florist based inPhiladelphia to import the carnations used for the mantle.[45]
On June 5, 1993, thoroughbred racing's all-time leading female jockey,Julie Krone, became the first woman to win a Triple Crown race when she rode to victory in the Belmont Stakes aboardColonial Affair.
In 1984,Sarah Lundy became the first female trainer to saddle a horse in the Belmont Stakes, sending out Minstrel Star, who finished eleventh.
The 2004 race had the biggest attendance in the park's history with 120,139.
Braulio Baeza has the distinction of winning three Belmont Stakes over three different surfaces. He won in his Belmont Stakes debut on 65 to 1 long-shot Sherluck in 1961 at the old Belmont Park, won in 1963 on Chateaugay when the race was run at Aqueduct, and won in 1969 on Arts and Letters at the new Belmont Park.
Prior to the 2016 running,bay horses had the most victories with 56.Chestnuts were close behind with 54 wins, followed by 33 dark bay/browns. Only three gray/roan horses had won[47] (Belmar in 1895,Native Dancer in 1953, andHigh Echelon in 1970). In 2016, gray horses swept the top three positions.[48]
Fifteen Belmont Stakes winners have sired at least one Belmont winner. Leading this list isMan o' War, who sired three subsequent winners —American Flag,Crusader and Triple Crown winnerWar Admiral.[47]
Twenty-three horses missed their chance at a Triple Crown by not winning the Belmont. Eight of these finished second: Pensive (1944), Tim Tam (1958), Forward Pass (1968), Majestic Prince (1969), Sunday Silence (1989), Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), and Smarty Jones (2004). Five finished third: Northern Dancer (1964), Spectacular Bid (1979), Pleasant Colony (1981), Charismatic (1999), and Funny Cide (2003). Four finished fourth: Kauai King (1966), Canonero II (1971), Alysheba (1987), and California Chrome (2014). Carry Back (1961) finished seventh, War Emblem (2002) finished eighth and Big Brown (2008) did not finish. Finally, three Derby/Preakness winners did not race in the Belmont: Burgoo King (1932), Bold Venture (1936) and I'll Have Another (2012), though I'll Have Another was injured and was scratched the day before his Belmont Stakes in 2012.[47]
In June 1971, mentalistThe Amazing Kreskin predicted that the winner of the next Belmont Stakes "would have an S in the third or fourth letter of his name." The winning horse that year wasPass Catcher.[49]
This gives them a respectable 13% win rate when entered.[51] For context, three fillies have won the Kentucky Derby while six have won the Preakness Stakes. On average, fillies have won between 2% and 3% of the Triple Crown races, with similar numbers forgeldings; while about 95% of these races have been won by colts. The last filly as of June 11, 2022 to run in the Belmont was in 2022 when Nest ran second (placed) behind the winner her stable mateMo Donegal.
Note: Timed to the1⁄4 second 1867 to 1901 and 1903, and to the1⁄5 second in 1902 and from 1904 to 1991. Decimal timing, to the nearest1⁄100, is now used, though race calls and many charts still use fifths.
Winners of the Belmont Stakes can be connected to each other due to the practice ofarranging horse breeding based on their previous success. All of the horses can be traced back to the three foundational sires, withGodolphin Arabian the ancestor of 18 winners,Byerley Turk the ancestor of 14 winners, andDarley Arabian the ancestor of 125 winners, including all winners since 2009.
TheTapit direct sire line has produced 5 of the last 12 Belmont Stakes winners, though not since 2021.
theDarley Arabian (1700c) sire line (all branched through theEclipse (1764) line)[52] produced 125 Stakes winners (120 colts, 2 geldings, 3 fillies), including all winners from 2009 to present. The main branches of this sire line are:
theKing Fergus (1775) branch (all branched through theVoltigeur (1847) line), produced 15 winners. His sire line continued primarily through his sonVedette (1854) with 13 winners, due primarily to his sonGalopin (1872) with 10 winners (exclusively throughSt Simon (1881), most recentlyColonial Affair in1993)[54][55][56]
thePotoooooooo (1773) branch[57] produced 109 winners (all branched through theWaxy (1790) line). The primary branch of this sire line is throughWhalebone (1807), which has produced 107 winners. In turn, the primary branch continues throughSir Hercules (1826), which has produced 85 winners, and then theBirdcatcher (1833) branch[58] which produced 79 winners. From Birdcatcher, the branch ofThe Baron (1842) has produced 71 winners (nearly exclusively through theStockwell (1849) line with 70 winners).[59] Birdcatcher's grandsonDoncaster (1870) siredBend Or (1877), whose sire line accounts for 65 winners.[60] The main branch of the Bend Or sire line continued through his sonBona Vista (1889) with 57 winners, exclusively through thePhalaris (1913) line, which has dominated in the last several decades (including all winners from 2009 to present) through the following sons:[61][62]
thePharos (1920) branch (31 winners all branched through theNearco (1935) line, through his sonsMossborough (1947),Royal Charger (1942),Nearctic (1954), andNasrullah (1940)). The Mossborough branch produced 1 winner (most recentlyCavan in1958), The Royal Charger branch produced 4 winners (most recentlyTemperence Hill in1980), the Nearctic branch produced 10 winners (nearly exclusively through his sonNorthern Dancer (1961) with 9 winners, most recentlySovereignty in2025), while the Nasrullah branch produced 16 winners, (most recentlyMo Donegal in2022), primarily through his sonBold Ruler (1954) with 13 winners primarily through his sonBoldnesian (1963) with 9 winners (exclusively through theSeattle Slew (1974) line, with his win in the1977 Belmont Stakes and 8 other progeny, nearly exclusively throughA.P. Indy, winner of the1992 Belmont Stakes and 6 other progeny winners, with 5 winners through A.P. Indy's sonPulpit (1994) (exclusively through Pulpit's sonTapit (2001)), most recentlyEssential Quality in2021).
special notes:
the Whalebone (1807) branch produced two main lines: the primary branch of Sir Hercules (1826), and the secondary branch ofCamel (1822) which produced 18 winners (exclusively through theTouchstone (1831) line). The Camel branch continued primarily through two of this grandsons: theNewminster (1848) branch (8 winners, primarily through theBay Ronald (1893) line with 6 winners, most recentlyCreme Fraiche in1985) and theOrlando (1841) branch (9 winners, exclusively through theEclipse (1855) line, most recentlyShut Out in1942).[63][64]
the Sir Hercules (1826) branch produced two main lines: the primary branch of Birdcatcher (1833), and the secondary branch ofFaugh-a-Ballagh (1841) which produced 6 winners (exclusively through theLeamington (1853) line), most recently1894 Belmont Stakes winnerHenry of Navarre.[65]
the Birdcatcher (1833) branch produced two main lines: the primary branch of The Baron (1842), and the secondary branch ofOxford (1857) which produced 7 winners (exclusively through theSterling (1868) line), most recently1964 Belmont Stakes winnerQuadrangle.[66]
the Bend Or (1877) branch produced two main lines: the primary branch of Bona Vista (1889), and the secondary branch ofOrmonde (1883) which produced 7 winners (exclusively through theTeddy (1913) line), most recently1967 Belmont Stakes winnerDamascus.[67]
theGodolphin Arabian (1724c) sire line[68] produced 18 colts. The main branches of this sire (all branched through theWest Australian (1850) line) are:
theSolon (1861) branch produced 2 winners (exclusively through theOgden (1894) line, most recentlyZev in1923)[69][70]
theAustralian (1858) branch produced 16 winners, including:
theByerley Turk (1680c) sire line[87][88][89] produced 14 winners (13 colts, 1 gelding). The main branches of this sire (all branched through theHerod (1758) line) are:
theFlorizel (1768) branch produced 7 winners (all branched through theBoston (1833) line). The main branches of this sire line are:
^Before 1991, times were measured in fractions. Since then, decimal times to the hundredth have been used. When comparing the fractional times to decimal values, it is racing convention to round the decimal timedown to the nearest fifth. Thus A.P. Indy's time of 2:26.13 is considered equivalent to Easy Goer's time of 2:26 flat.
^Sowers, Richard (2014).The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes : a comprehensive history. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.ISBN978-0-7864-7698-5.
