1973 Belmont Stakes Steve Cady of the "New York Times" wrote that Secretariat could be defeated if the pace of the race went too fast or was too slow for too long, in both of which scenarios he felt Sham would win. Sham received significant attention as well and was thought to be the second best horse, along with having the potential of becoming the first horse to be runner-up in all the Triple Crown races. My Gallant was considered the best of the rest, especially as he was the progeny of Gallant Man, who set the Belmont Stakes course record of 2:
2016 Belmont Stakes 2016 Belmont Stakes The 2016 Belmont Stakes was the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes. The race, known as the "test of the champion", is the final jewel in Thoroughbred horse racing's American Triple Crown series, and was held on June 11, 2016, three weeks after the Preakness Stakes and five weeks after the Kentucky Derby. The race, which had no Triple Crown at stake (as Derby winner Nyquist lost in the Preakness), was broadcast by NBC beginning at 5:00 p.m. EDT, with pre-race coverage on NBCSN starting at 3:00 p.m. The race was won by Creator by a nose