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
2004 Belmont Stakes 2004 Belmont Stakes The 2004 Belmont Stakes was the 136th running of the Belmont Stakes. The race, known as the "test of the champion" and sometimes called the "final jewel" in thoroughbred horse racing's Triple Crown series, was held on June 5, 2004, three weeks after the Preakness Stakes and five weeks after the Kentucky Derby. For the third year in a row, a horse won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, only to lose the Belmont Stakes, lengthening the Triple Crown drought to 26 years. In 2004 before a record crowd, Smarty Jones was thought to have an excellent chance