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
1977 Belmont Stakes 1 mile: 1:38.8, 1mile: 2:03.8, Final: 2:29.6 Note: times were kept to the fifth of a second. 1977 Belmont Stakes The 1977 Belmont Stakes was the 109th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York held on June 11, 1977. With a field of eight horses, Seattle Slew won by four lengths in front of a crowd of 70,229 spectators. In conjunction with previously winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, Seattle Slew became the tenth horse to with the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, and the first to do so unbeaten. The race went off