1973 Kentucky Derby Three weeks after the Preakness, the Belmont Stakes featured a five-horse field. Secretariat won by 31 lengths with a time of 2:24 for the mile and a half, both course records in their own right. Through his combined victories at the Belmont Stakes, Preakness Stakes, and Kentucky Derby, Secretariat became the ninth horse to complete the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, and the first horse since Citation in 1948, ending a 25-year period without a Triple Crown winner. Secretariat's times in all three Triple Crown races were course records and still stand to this day. 1973 Kentucky Derby The 1973
1978 Belmont Stakes 1978 Belmont Stakes The 1978 Belmont Stakes was the 110th running of the Belmont Stakes. It occurred on June 10, 1978, and was televised on CBS. Affirmed completed the 11th Triple Crown after his victories in the 1978 Kentucky Derby and the 1978 Preakness Stakes. As in the prior two legs of the Triple Crown, he narrowly defeated Alydar. Affirmed and Alydar ran head to head for the last half mile of the mile and a half race, with Affirmed ultimately winning by a head. Affirmed's winning time of 2:26 4/5 was the 3rd best in history at the time,