Belmont Stakes year when the Triple Crown series was split three ways. The Belmont Stakes race was held at Aqueduct Racetrack from 1963 to 1967, while the track at Belmont was restored and renovated. The largest crowd of the 20th century was in 1971 with over 80,000 people, supplemented by the city's Latino community, there to cheer on their new hero, Cañonero II, the Venezuelan colt who had won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and was poised to win the U.S. Triple Crown. However, due to a foot infection that had bothered the horse for several days, Cañonero II failed to
2002 Belmont Stakes Lightly regarded Sarava won at odds of 70-1, the biggest long-shot in the history of the Belmont Stakes. War Emblem established himself as the horse to beat in the Belmont Stakes after wire-to-wire wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Despite his racing ability, he was a temperamental colt known around the stable as "Hannibal Lector" for his habit of trying to bite anyone who came too close. Baffert was optimistic about the colt's chances, saying, "With [jockey] Victor [Espinoza], there's no thinking involved. Just get him out of the gate and let him go." With Puzzlement a late