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.
Discovery (horse) by his continuing rivalry with Cavalcade. He finished second to Cavalcade in the 1934 Kentucky Derby and third to High Quest and Cavalcade in the Preakness Stakes. Both horses skipped the Belmont Stakes. Discovery went on to win the first of three consecutive Brooklyn and Whitney Handicaps (both under higher and higher weights), and set a world record time for one mile and three-sixteenths in the Rhode Island Handicap at Narragansett Park. In 1935, Discovery was the dominant horse in the United States, and one of the most notable things about him was his ability to carry great weight. Running