
A Day in the Life of a Kentucky Derby Horse
This year’s Belmont Stakes will be different than any other, with a new date, distance, and track regulations, but it will still draw the attention of sports fans from across the nation as well as some of the best 3-year-old Thoroughbreds in the country.
Read on for facts and figures on Saturday’s race at Belmont Park.
0 – The number of times the Belmont has preceded both the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and the Preakness Stakes. It will happen for the first time this year.
0 – The number of fans allowed at this year’s Belmont due to COVID-19. Attendees will be limited to personnel essential to track operations and horse care.
1 1/8 miles – This year’s race will be run at 1 1/8 miles for the first time in decades. The Belmont is traditionally contested as the longest race of the Triple Crown at 1 ½ 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 time the 1 ½-mile Belmont has been completed in. Secretariat set the record in 1973.
3 – The number of winners bred in New York. Tiz the Law will attempt to join that list this year.
4 – The number of tracks the Belmont has been raced on: Jerome Park (1867-1889), Morris Park (1890-1904), Aqueduct (1963-1967), and Belmont Park (1905-present, except when closed for construction).
14 – The number of odds-on favorites who have won the Belmont Stakes, from 34 horses sent off less than even money.
15 – The largest number of horses ever to compete in the Belmont, in 1983. This year’s race is expected to have 10 entrants.
17 – The number of times the Belmont has been decided by a head or less, most recently when Creator finished a nose in front of Destin in 2016.
17 – 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.
23 – The number of fillies who have raced in the Belmont. Three of them won: Ruthless (1867), Tanya (1905), and Rags to Riches (2007).
31 lengths – Record margin of victory when Secretariat won the 1973 edition to become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.
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.
42% - The success rate of the betting favorite in the Belmont. The favorite has won 63 of 151 editions.
$142.50 – The winning payout on a $2 wager on 2002 winner Sarava, a record.
152 – This year is the 152nd 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 – Record attendance at the Belmont in 2004 when Smarty Jones failed in his Triple Crown attempt. In recent years attendance has been capped at 90,000.
$150,249,369 – Record dollars bet on Belmont day races, occurring in 2014 when California Chrome was unsuccessful in his Triple Crown bid.