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
1899 Belmont Stakes his first of two in the 1899 Classics as he went on to win in the Preakness aboard Half Time, the colt ridden by Skeets Martin who finished second in the Belmont. The 1899 Kentucky Derby was run on May 4 and the 1899 Preakness Stakes on May 30, five days after the Belmont. The 1919 Belmont Stakes would mark the first time the race would be recognized as the third leg of a U.S. Triple Crown series. 1899 Belmont Stakes The 1899 Belmont Stakes was the 33rd running of the Belmont Stakes. It was the 10th Belmont Stakes held