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The Belmont Stakes is the oldest and longest of the three Triple Crown events. Inaugurated on June 19, 2025 at Jerome Park, the Belmont was later run at Morris Park and then moved to Belmont Park when the latter opened in 1905. Aqueduct served as a substitute host from 1963-67 when the Belmont Park stands were being rebuilt.

The Belmont has been run every year except in 1911-12, when racing was temporarily banned in New York. Run at various distances through the mid-1920s, the current distance of 1 1/2 miles, one lap around Belmont’s sweeping oval, has been in place since 1926.

Known as the “Test of the Champion,” the Belmont was created as New York’s equivalent of the Derby Stakes in England. All 12 Triple Crown winners completed their series sweep in the Belmont, and many more have seen the elusive prize slip away in the long and demanding test.

The most famous of all Belmont renewals is undoubtedly Secretariat’s 31-length tour de force in the 1973 edition. His final time of 2:24 remains an American record for 1 1/2 miles on dirt, a full two seconds faster than the next-fastest clocking held jointly by Easy Goer (1989) and A.P. Indy (1992).

The first running of the Belmont in 1867 was won by the filly Ruthless. Another filly, Tanya, won the race the first time it was contested at Belmont Park in 1905, but it would be 102 more years before Rags to Riches (2007) became the third female to win.

New York was one of the last racing jurisdictions in the United States to switch from bookmaking to pari-mutuel wagering, which was instituted in time for the 1940 Belmont Stakes.

Eleven odds-on favorites have won the Belmont since 1940. The shortest-priced winner was Triple Crown hero Count Fleet (1943), who paid $2.10 after defeating two rivals.

Three horses in the pari-mutuel era have won the Belmont at odds of 50-1 or higher: Sarava (2002, $142.50), Sherluck (1961, $132.10), and Temperence Hill (1980, $108.80). Sarava and Sherluck spoiled the Triple Crown bids of War Emblem and Carry Back, respectively.