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
Belmont Sprint Championship Stakes set a track record at Belmont Park when winning the 2014 renewal in 1:19.96. In 2017, the race was raised to Grade II status and became part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" series – the winner will receive an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. Speed record: Most wins by a jockey: Belmont Sprint Championship Stakes The Belmont Sprint Championship Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and up. It is held over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt and is currently run in early