Belmont Stakes History
Belmont Race - History - Winners
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.
Belmont Traditions
According to the offical Web site of the Belmont Stakes, "The white carnation is the traditional flower of the Belmont Stakes. The blanket requires approximately 350 carnations, glued to green velveteen spread and weighs between 30 and 40 pounds. The flowers are shipped from California or Bogota, Columbia."
The Belmont Breeze is the official drink of the Belmont Stakes. Created by New York’s premiere beverage authority Dale DeGroff, the profile of the Belmont Breeze comes from the colonial recipe: one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong and four of weak.
The ingredients are:
- 1 1/2 ounces of a good American blended whiskey
- 3/4 ounces Harveys Bristol Cream Sherry
- 1/2 ounce of fresh lemon juice
- 1 ounce of simple syrup
- (1 ounce of sweet and sour mix may be substituted for the lemon juice and simple syrup)
- 1 1/2 ounces fresh orange juice
- 1 1/2 ounces cranberry juice
- 1 ounce 7-Up
- 1 ounce Club Soda
Shake first six ingredients with ice, then top with 7-Up and club soda. Garnish with mint sprig and lemon wedge.
◄ Previous - Next ►
|