Belmont Stakes win the Triple Crown when he struggled across the finish line in 4th place behind Pass Catcher, ridden by Walter Blum. Despite this loss, Cañonero II was named the winner of the first Eclipse Award for Outstanding Three-Year-Old Male Horse. On June 9, 1973, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by thirty-one lengths in a record time of 2:24, becoming a Triple Crown champion, ending a 25-year gap between Citation, the Belmont and Triple Crown winner in 1948. Secretariat's record still stands as the fastest running of the Belmont Stakes and an American record for 1½ miles on the dirt. In
2005 Belmont Stakes to sweep the three races. The race proved fairly uneventful, with favorite Afleet Alex winning by seven lengths and stamping himself as the top three-year-old in the nation. Longshots finished in the next three places, resulting in high payouts for the trifecta and superfecta. Giacomo won the 2005 Kentucky Derby in a major upset at odds of 50-1. Afleet Alex, who had finished third in the Derby, rebounded to win the Preakness Stakes despite nearly falling when another horse swerved into his path at the head of the stretch. Afleet Alex was favored to win the Belmont, with morning line