1973 Belmont Stakes 1973 Belmont Stakes The 1973 Belmont Stakes was the 105th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York held on June 9, 1973. Facing a field of five horses, Secretariat won by 31 lengths, the largest margin of victory in Belmont history, in front of a crowd of 69,138 spectators. His winning time of 2 minutes and 24 seconds still stands as the American record for a mile and a half on dirt. The event was televised and broadcast over the radio. Secretariat was widely viewed as the favorite to win by most sportswriters and people;
1978 Belmont Stakes 1978 Belmont Stakes The 1978 Belmont Stakes was the 110th running of the Belmont Stakes. It occurred on June 10, 1978, and was televised on CBS. Affirmed completed the 11th Triple Crown after his victories in the 1978 Kentucky Derby and the 1978 Preakness Stakes. As in the prior two legs of the Triple Crown, he narrowly defeated Alydar. Affirmed and Alydar ran head to head for the last half mile of the mile and a half race, with Affirmed ultimately winning by a head. Affirmed's winning time of 2:26 4/5 was the 3rd best in history at the time,