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
New York Derby New York Derby The New York Derby is the second leg of the "Big Apple Triple," a grouping created in 1999 consisting of three races at three different racetracks in New York state and restricted to three-year-olds bred in New York state. A horse who wins all three of the Big Apple Triple wins the purse total of $400,000 plus a $250,000 bonus. The first leg is the Mike Lee Stakes run at Belmont Park, and the third leg is the Albany Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The New York Derby is held at the Finger Lakes Racetrack in Farmington,