The Belmont Stakes, run each year since 1905 at Belmont Park in Elmont, on Long Island, N.Y., is the longest-running of the Triple Crown races; it was first run in 1867, at Jerome Park. Its other distinction is in being the longest of the three, at a mile and a half. The Belmont Stakes race is held between the Preakness and the Kentucky Derby; the Preakness, which was once the same length, has been shortened due to the general feeling that a mile and a half course is too difficult for the three year olds that run it, but that sentiment hasn’t shortened the Belmont.

 

Like the Preakness and the Derby, the Belmont has its traditions; the winner is blanketed in white carnations; the winner’s owner is presented with the trophy, a silver tiffany bowl that’s been in use since 1869, to be kept for the year. The Belmont song, “New York, New York”, as immortalized by Sinatra, opens the race each year.

 

Perhaps the only fly in the ointment of the Belmont Stakes is its traditional libation, the Belmont Breeze. The Breeze is an unlikely compilation of whiskey, fruit juices, soft drinks and cream sherry; its gaseous nature may be less like a breeze than a mighty ill wind.

 

And let’s not forget about the horses! 1973 saw the triumph of the beautiful Secretariat, who won the race 31 lengths ahead in 2:24; a time that may never be repeated. The winning purse now stands at $1 million. The challenge of the Belmont is in finding a horse who combines endurance with speed to win the longest race in the Triple Crown.  The challenge of the Triple Crown is in finding the horse that can run three long, hard races in less than two months: only eleven horses have managed to win the Triple Crown; the last was Affirmed, of Harbor View Farm, in 1978. That’s a long time between wins!