August Belmont Sr. treasured stamina and bred his horses accordingly. When he and partner Leonard Jerome founded their New York racetrack in 1866, Belmont wanted to add a long-distance stakes, one that celebrated stamina in 3-year-olds. To that end, he inaugurated the 1 5/8-mile Belmont Stakes in June 1867, the sophomore test at Jerome Park soon becoming a traditional test of endurance.

The race moved to its permanent home at Belmont Park in 1905, where eight horses won the Belmont, called the “Test of the Champion,” and completed what we know as the Triple Crown. However, in the early 1960s, the racetrack was in dire need of a total reconstruction. While Belmont Park was out of commission, Aqueduct became the temporary home of the Belmont Stakes, a unique five-year stretch in its 156 years.

A Historic Home

Opened in 1894, Aqueduct got its name from its location near a Brooklyn Water Works conduit feeding water into New York City. The racetrack was one of the few that reopened after the Hart-Agnew laws outlawed gambling and forced the city’s racetracks to close for two years, 1911-1913. When the New York Racing Association took over the state’s racetracks in 1955, Aqueduct underwent a three-year renovation and then reopened in 1959. Four years later, the Ozone Park facility would get its own taste of Triple Crown history.

NYRA chairman James Cox Brady announced in April 1963 that further renovations of Belmont Park were not enough to ensure the racetrack was safe. The steel supporting structures showed signs of potential failure and the grandstand roof needed replacing. With Empire City and Jamaica both closed in the late 1950s, the New York City area had just Aqueduct and Belmont Park, so shutting the latter permanently would hurt racing in the area. Instead, NYRA opted to raze and then rebuild Belmont Park and temporarily moved the track’s races, including its stakes, to Aqueduct. The Belmont Stakes would have a temporary home at the Big A.

A Race Relocated

Amberoid winning the 1966 Belmont Stakes. (BloodHorse Library/NYRA photo)

Though the track was closed, NYRA assured racing fans that the 1963 Belmont Stakes would happen on its traditional date, three weeks after the Preakness Stakes. Kentucky Derby winner Chateaugay and Preakness Stakes victor Candy Spots came to New York along with five others for the 1 ½-mile classic. To get that distance on the 1 1/8-mile oval, the starting gate was placed on the far turn, requiring the horses to break from the outer stalls so that they did not run straight into the rail. Starter George Cassidy watched as the seven 3-year-olds loaded and then hit the button for the start of the first of the five Belmont Stakes at Aqueduct.

Chateaugay got the better of Candy Spots that day as the final Triple Crown classic went off without a hitch. Because the two had split the Derby and the Preakness, that delayed the conversation about what a horse winning the Belmont at the same distance but not the same racetrack meant. The following year, though, Northern Dancer came to Aqueduct seeking an American crown for his Canadian connections. The year 1964 marked 16 years since Citation had become the eighth winner. Could the Dancer end the drought? Despite a valiant effort, the Canadian colt fell short as he finished third behind winner Quadrangle.

Aqueduct hosted three more editions of the Belmont: Hail to All defeated Preakness winner Tom Rolfe in 1965 while Amberoid spoiled Kauai King’s Triple Crown try in 1966. Damascus followed up his Preakness win with an easy Belmont Stakes victory in 1967, the last for the familiar white with red polka dots formerly of Belair Stud, silks that six other horses, including Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox and Omaha, had worn in their classic victories.

A New Classic

By early 1968, the new Belmont Park was ready for its debut. NYRA announced that the 100^th Belmont Stakes would be at the revitalized racetrack with its balance of old and new: an immense grandstand, 112-feet high and a quarter of a mile long, and untouched classic features like the paddock dotted with white oak trees and the singular sandy racing surface. On opening day, May 20, a crowd of 42,080 welcomed the iconic racetrack back into the Gotham fold.

Twelve days later, the Belmont Stakes returned to the famed oval as Forward Pass came in with a victory by disqualification in the Kentucky Derby and a six-length win in the Preakness. The Calumet colt was in pursuit of a third Triple Crown for the devil red and blue, but that was not to be as Forward Pass could not hold on to his lead, giving way to Stage Door Johnny in the last eighth of a mile.

Aqueduct stepped in when Belmont Park needed a revamp and housed the Belmont Stakes for a five-year stretch in the 1960s much as Saratoga Race Course will do once again in the 2020s, a temporary home for an American classic.