Belmont Stakes - History

The Belmont was even longer in its early days, contested at 1-5/8 miles through 1873. But from 1890 through 1926, the race dropped down to distances varying between 1-1/8 and 1-3/8 miles. The 1926 Belmont was run at 1-1/2 miles and was won by Crusader, a son of the legendary Man o' War, in a time of 2:32-1/5. The race has been run at that distance ever since.

Because of its distance and status as the race that can make or break a Triple Crown champion, the Belmont Stakes has been the venue for some of the most famous moments in American racing. There was Count Fleet destroying two nondescript rivals by 25 lengths in the 1943 renewal; Secretariat one-upping his fellow Triple Crown victor 30 years later, winning by 31 lengths in record time; and there was Affirmed and Alydar, slugging away at each other for nearly a mile before Affirmed prevailed to become a Triple Crown winner in 1978.