2011 Belmont Stakes 2011 Belmont Stakes The 2011 Belmont Stakes was the 143rd running of the Belmont Stakes and was won by Ruler on Ice. The race was run on June 11, 2011, and was televised in the United States on the NBC television network. The post time was EDT ( UTC). As in the previous year, the Belmont (the final jewel in the Triple Crown) was run without the elusive championship at stake as 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom lost in the Preakness. Favorite Animal Kingdom lost his footing at the start and could only muster sixth; Ruler On Ice, with
1973 Belmont Stakes a sloppy track. However, Knightly Dawn was scratched prior to race day. The horse's scratch also reduced the winner's share from $150,200 to $90,120. There was much speculation going into the Stakes over Secretariat's bid for the Triple Crown. Since 1948, when Citation achieved the feat, there had been six horses that had won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes before failing in the Belmont Stakes. When comparing Secretariat to those six horses' health and fitness before the Belmont Stakes, writer Bonifice felt Secretariat was in the best shape, almost as good as when he entered the Kentucky