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 Stakes the mile and a half stakes record (which is also a track and world record on dirt) of 2:24. The attendance at the Belmont Stakes is among the American thoroughbred racing top-attended events. The 2004 Belmont Stakes drew a television audience of 21.9 million viewers, and had the highest household viewing rate since 1977 when Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown. The 150th Belmont Stakes took place on Saturday, June 9, 2018. Justify won the race and became the second horse in four years to win the Triple Crown. The first Belmont Stakes was held at Jerome Park Racetrack in