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
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