1973 Belmont Stakes meant he completed the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. This was significant as he was the ninth horse to complete the feat and broke a 25-year drought where a horse failed to complete the achievement. Secretariat, Sham, Pvt. Smiles, and My Gallant were the first four horses to be entered into the Belmont Stakes. Secretariat, winner of both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, was the odds on favorite to win the event. The added distance of the Belmont when compared to the Derby and Preakness was found to be one potential reason for Secretariat to lose the race.
2017 Belmont Stakes of both Always Dreaming, the 2017 Kentucky Derby winner, and Cloud Computing, the winner of the 2017 Preakness Stakes, decided to bypass the Belmont. Classic Empire would have been the favorite of the remaining contenders for the race, but was withdrawn on June 7 because of a recurrent foot abscess. Classic Empire, the champion two-year-old colt of 2016, finished fourth in the Derby and second in the Preakness. Another leading contender was Epicharis, a Japanese-bred horse who qualified on the 2017 Road to the Kentucky Derby but who bypassed that race to focus on the Belmont. The New York Racing