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 tradition is similar to the singing of the state song at the post parades of the first two Triple Crown races: "My Old Kentucky Home" at the Kentucky Derby and "Maryland, My Maryland" at the Preakness Stakes. The change of song gave rise to "the myth of Mamie O'Rourke," a reference to a character in the lyrics of "The Sidewalks of New York." Before American Pharoah won the Triple Crown in 2015, some claimed that changing the official Belmont song "cursed" the Triple Crown and was why no horse had won since Affirmed in 1978. Others note that there was