



In its long history, the Belmont has run at a variety of lengths. It was run clockwise, as is the case in the United Kingdom. The first Belmont Stakes took place in 1867, and is named for its first sponsor, August Belmont Sr. The entry fee is $15,000, and the starting fee is another $15,000. A limit of sixteen colts and fillies are permitted in the starting gate. The rest of the field is filled by order of lifetime earnings. The bizarreness of 2020 saw the tables turned, and the Belmont Stakes served as a prep race for the Kentucky Derby. Most of the berths are secured in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, the top three finishers that automatically advance to the Belmont. Its distance is daunting, and so is the competition. Reaching the Belmont is a far less complicated affair than qualifying for the Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Oaks. Belmont Stakes Qualifiers and Why It Matters
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With the achievement never guaranteed from year to year, unlike a winner of the World Series or Super Bowl, Belmont Park becomes the focus of worldwide attention when a Triple Crown completion is a prospect. The rarity of a Triple Crown win, particularly after a lengthy pause between them, makes for great drama at the end of the Belmont when one is possible. When a Triple Crown score is possible, the names of the horses who have accomplished the feat, along with the silks of their jockeys, are placed on large signs down the Belmont backstretch. The winning owner of the Belmont Stakes is awarded the historic August Belmont Trophy in a ceremony which is sometimes awkward when a Triple Crown winner contender fails to cross the finish line in front this was the case several times in the 2000s before American Pharoah broke a drought of almost four decades in 2015. Its white carnations for the winner’s blanket are imported, although not artificially colored as the “black-eyed Susans” of the Preakness are. Its status as the exclamation point on the end of the spring-summer season for three-year-olds tends to overshadow the more personable and enduring characteristics surrounding the Kentucky Derby and even the Preakness.įor example, the Belmont’s “theme song” has changed approximately five times, the race itself has been run at four different locations, and its official flower and cocktail drift about as well. The Belmont Stakes, although older than the Kentucky Derby (1875) and the Preakness (1873) by a handful of years, is primarily known for its monster track, monster length, and monster attendance in years when a Triple Crown is possible. Before then, the Belmont Stakes were run at Jerome Park Racetrack, then Morris Park Racecourse, and Aqueduct Racetrack in the mid-1960s while Belmont Park underwent renovation. William Collins Whitney and August Belmont, Jr., built the first race track known as Belmont in 1905. It can hold over 120,000 fans if necessary, but attendance has been recently capped at 90,000. Belmont Park covers 430 acres and also hosts a 1 3/16 mile turf course. Its surface can be deep, and at a mile and a half, its dimensions are always wide. Many champions have raced or paraded at “the Big Sandy,” including Seabiscuit, Man O’ War, War Admiral, and Rachel Alexandra. Belmont Park, the Belmont Stakes Racetrack of 2021īelmont Park was entrenched in the history of horse racing even before the Triple Crown solidified into its current form. It’s currently set for Saturday, June 5, 2021. While the 2020 Belmont Stakes were a lightning rod of controversy due to its shortened length and ban on fans in attendance, the 2021 edition will hopefully return in its traditional form, at its usual distance with spectators in attendance. Belmont Stakes Qualifiers and Why It Matters.Belmont Park, the Belmont Stakes Racetrack of 2021.
