The Belmont Stakes has a rich history dating back to its inception in 1867, which means there is no shortage of interesting numbers associated with the race that is often called the “Test of the Champion.”

This year’s 156^th running of the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets will be held June 8 at Saratoga Race Course. If, for some reason, you’ve been out of the horse racing loop for a while, you might not be aware that Belmont Park is in the process of a massive renovation, which led the New York Racing Association to shift the final jewel of the Triple Crown to Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., for both 2024 and 2025.

That venue change also led to adjusting the distance of the race to 1 1/4 miles from its regular distance of 1 1/2 miles, because Saratoga’s main dirt track is a 1 1/8-mile oval while Belmont's 1 1/2-mile oval is ideal for a race at that distance. Also of note, there will be no Triple Crown bid for the sixth straight year, however, the 2024 Belmont is expected to draw both Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve winner Mystik Dan and Preakness Stakes victor Seize the Grey.

Read on for a slew of fun figures in advance of the 2024 Belmont Stakes.

1 – The number of times the Belmont preceded both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. It happened for the first and only time in the race’s history in 2020 when Tiz the Law won the race after it was pushed back two weeks due to the pandemic and shortened to 1 1/8 miles. The Kentucky Derby was postponed that year to the first Saturday in September due to the COVID-19 pandemic while the Preakness Stakes moved to the first week in October. 

Epicenter winning 2022 Travers Stakes at 1 1/4 miles (Eclipse Sportswire)

1 1/4 miles – The Belmont Stakes at 1 ½ miles usually is the longest race of the Triple Crown but this year the distance has been adjusted to 1 ¼ miles to accommodate the venue change to Saratoga Race Course. The Belmont Stakes will be held at 1 ¼ miles for the seventh time in its history. The race also has been held at 1 1/8 miles, 1 3/8 miles, and 1 5/8 miles.

$2.10 – The $2 win payout when Count Fleet won the 1943 Belmont Stakes (and Triple Crown), the lowest win payout ever.

2:24 – The fastest winning time for the Belmont Stakes at its usual 1 ½-mile distance. Secretariat set the record in 1973 when he swept the Triple Crown.

4 – The number of times the Belmont Stakes was decided by a nose (the smallest margin of victory) or less since 1905, with the most recent coming in 2016 when Creator edged Destin.

4 – The number of racetracks the Belmont Stakes has been held at to date: Jerome Park (1867-1889), Morris Park (1890-1904), Aqueduct (1963-1967), and Belmont Park (1905-2023, except when closed for construction). Saratoga Race Course will become the fifth host track June 8.

Woody Stephens in 1988 (Anne M. Eberhardt/BloodHorse)

5 – Hall of Fame trainer Woody Stephens won a record five consecutive Belmont Stakes from 1982 to 1986, a benchmark that will be exceptionally difficult to equal or break. Stephens’ winners were: Conquistador Cielo (1982), Caveat (1983), Swale (1984), Creme Fraiche (1985) and Danzig Connection (1986). No other trainer has won more than three straight editions of the race.

6 – James R. Keene and Belair Stud share the record for most Belmont Stakes winners by an owner with six each. Keene owned Belmont victors Spendthrift (1879), Commando (1901), Delhi (1904), Peter Pan (1907), Colin (1908), and Sweep (1910); Belair Stud raced Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935) as well as Belmont winners Faireno (1932), Granville (1936), Johnstown (1939), and Nashua (1955).

9 – The number of horses bred outside the United States who have won the Belmont Stakes, most recently Canadian-bred Victory Gallop in 1998 when he defeated Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Real Quiet by a nose.

11 – The number of 3-year-olds that completed the Kentucky Derby-Belmont Stakes double (not counting Triple Crown winners), most recently Thunder Gulch in 1995. Mystik Dan can become the 12th June 8 with a win at Saratoga.

13 – The number of 3-year-olds who completed a sweep of the three jewels of the U.S. Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978), American Pharoah (2015), and Justify (2018).

15 – The number of odds-on favorites who have won the Belmont Stakes, from 37 horses sent off at even-money odds or less, including Tiz the Law at 4-5 odds in 2020.

18 – The number of 3-year-olds that completed the Preakness-Belmont Stakes double (not counting Triple Crown winners), most recently Afleet Alex in 2005. Seize the Grey will try to become the 19th in 2024.

20 – The number of Belmont winners who were sired (fathered) by a Belmont winner, most recently 2009 winner Summer Bird, who was sired by 2004 winner Birdstone. The legendary Man o’ War, winner of the 1920 Belmont Stakes, sired three Belmont winners: American Flag (1925), Crusader (1926), and War Admiral (1937).

24 – The number of fillies who have raced in the Belmont. Three of them won: Ruthless (1867), Tanya (1905), and Rags to Riches (2007). In 2022, Longines Kentucky Oaks runner-up Nest became the most recent filly to compete in the race and finished second to stablemate Mo Donegal.

24 – The number of Belmont Stakes winners (since 1905) to start from post-position No. 1. While the inside post position has not produced a Kentucky Derby winner since Ferdinand in 1986, the inside post in the Belmont Stakes has produced eight more wins than any other position in the starting gate, including most recently Justify in 2018 when he became the 13^th Triple Crown winner. Post position No. 3 has produced 16 winners, including Arcangelo a year ago.

Secretariat's 1973 Belmont Stakes win. (Coglianese Photo/Blood-Horse Library)

31 lengths – Record margin of victory when Secretariat won the 1973 edition to become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.

37 – The number of times inclement weather has led to the Belmont Stakes being contested on an “off” track, for 23.9% of the total. The most recent was in 2011 when Ruler On Ice won on a “sloppy/sealed” track.

42 – The number of horses who have won the Belmont and at least one other Triple Crown race, including 13 Triple Crown winners who swept the series.

60 – The winningest color of Belmont Stakes winners is bay with 60; chestnut ranks second with 55. Mo Donegal in 2022 is the most recent bay winner of the Belmont Stakes. Arcangelo in 2023 became just the sixth gray or roan Belmont Stakes winner in the race's storied history.

66 – The number of winning favorites in the 155-year history of the Belmont Stakes, which amounts to a 42.6% win rate for the top betting choice.

105 – Kentucky is the leading state for producing Belmont Stakes winners with 105 winners bred in the Bluegrass State. Virginia is a distant second with 11 Belmont Stakes victors.

138 – The number of years between New York-bred winners in the Belmont Stakes. Tiz the Law won the race in 2020 to become the first state-bred winner of New York’s Triple Crown race since Forester in 1882, ending a long drought.

Sarava, outside, rallies past Medaglia d'Oro in 2002 Belmont (BloodHorse Library)

$142.50 – The winning payout on a $2 wager on 2002 winner Sarava, a record.

156 – This year is the 156th running of the Belmont Stakes.

700 – The approximate number of white Colombian carnations that adorn the Belmont winner’s blanket.

1867 – The year the first Belmont Stakes was contested, making it the oldest of the three Triple Crown races.

$2,500 – The purse of the first-ever Belmont Stakes.

120,139 – The largest crowd ever to attend the Belmont Stakes was 20 years ago in 2004, when Bridstone spoiled the Triple Crown bid of fan favorite Smarty Jones. Read more about the fervor leading up to that edition of the Belmont Stakes.

$2 million – The purse for the 2024 Belmont Stakes, with $1.2 million going to the winner.

$83,054,106 – The record dollars bet from all sources on the Belmont Stakes, which occurred in 2014 when California Chrome was unsuccessful in his bid to win the Triple Crown. Last year, there was $56,533,820 bet on the race.

$150,249,399 – Record dollars bet on Belmont day races, also occurring in 2014.