Prove Out to the eventual 1973 Horse of the Year. Prove Out also defeated Secretariat's stablemate, the 1972 Kentucky Derby winner and 1973 U.S. Champion Older Horse Riva Ridge, in the 1973 Jockey Club Gold Cup. In addition to his two memorable victories in 1973, Prove Out also ran track record times at Saratoga for 7 furlongs (1:21), and at Belmont Park for 1 miles (1:40). His Woodward Stakes time of 2:25 for 1 miles on an off track is the second fastest performance ever recorded for that distance at Belmont Park, behind only Secretariat's 2:24 record Belmont Stakes win. Prove Out's
Belmont Stakes year when the Triple Crown series was split three ways. The Belmont Stakes race was held at Aqueduct Racetrack from 1963 to 1967, while the track at Belmont was restored and renovated. The largest crowd of the 20th century was in 1971 with over 80,000 people, supplemented by the city's Latino community, there to cheer on their new hero, Cañonero II, the Venezuelan colt who had won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and was poised to win the U.S. Triple Crown. However, due to a foot infection that had bothered the horse for several days, Cañonero II failed to