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Belmont Stakes History
Belmont Race - History - Winners
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-priced Belmont Stakes winner was Sarava ($142.50) in 2002. The lowest $2 win mutuel was Triple Crown winner Count Fleet ($2.10) in 1943.
The largest field for the Belmont Stakes was 15 in 1983 and the smallest was two in 1887, 1888, 1892, 1910 and 1920. The second largest field was 14 in 1996 (Editor's Note) and 1875 (Calvin). The widest margin of victory was Secretariat's 31-length victory in the 1973 Belmont Stakes. The smallest margin was a nose by Granville (1936), Jaipur (1962) and Victory Gallop (1998).
The 2002 Belmont Stakes set the precedent for horse racing in New York with a record attendance of 103,222. Additional high attendance marks are: 85,818 in 1999 (Lemon Drop Kid denies Charismatic the Triple Crown); 82,694 in 1971 (Pass Catcher denies Canonero II the Triple Crown); and 80,162 in 1998 (Victory Gallop denies Real Quiet the Triple Crown).
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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