Editing Belmont Stakes (section)

=== 1930–2000: evolution of the Triple Crown series ===
{{Main|Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)}}

The term Triple Crown was first used when [[Gallant Fox]] won the three races in 1930, but the term did not enter widespread use until 1935 when his son [[Omaha (horse)|Omaha]] repeated the feat. Sir Barton was then honored retroactively.<ref>{{cite web|title=10 things to know about the Triple Crown|url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/horses/triple/2014/06/06/things-know-triple-crown/10103343/|website=The Courier-Journal|access-date=May 30, 2016}}</ref> Since 1931, the order of Triple Crown races has been the Kentucky Derby first, followed by the Preakness Stakes, and then the Belmont Stakes. Prior to 1931, the Preakness was run before the Derby eleven times. On May 12, 1917, and again on May 13, 1922, the Preakness and the Derby were run on the same day. On eleven occasions, the Belmont Stakes was run before the Preakness Stakes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.turfnsport.com/triplecrown/preakness-stakes.php |title=Preakness Stakes |publisher=Turfnsport.com |access-date=2010-10-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429021800/http://www.turfnsport.com/triplecrown/preakness-stakes.php |archive-date=2011-04-29}}</ref> The date of each event is now set by the [[Kentucky Derby]], which is always held on the first Saturday in May. The [[Preakness Stakes]] is currently held two weeks later; and the Belmont Stakes is held three weeks after the Preakness (five weeks after the Derby). The earliest possible date for the Derby is May 1, and the latest is May 7; the earliest possible date for the Belmont is thus June 5, and the latest is June 11.<ref>{{cite web|title=Triple Crown Races|url=http://www.triplecrownraces.com/|website=Triple Crown Racing|access-date=May 30, 2016}}</ref> In 2020, due to the cancellation of the original dates due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the order changed with the Belmont first on June 20, the Kentucky Derby on September 5 and the Preakness on October 3—all with no spectators—before the Triple Crown races resumed their normal schedule in 2021.

[[File:Assault conformation image.jpeg|thumb|Assault, winner of the 1946 Triple Crown]]
In 1937, War Admiral became the fourth Triple Crown winner after winning the Belmont in a new track record time of 2:28 3/5.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chart of the 1937 Belmont|url=http://www.belmontstakes.com/UserFiles/file/1937.pdf|website=Belmont Stakes|access-date=May 30, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629175508/http://www.belmontstakes.com/UserFiles/file/1937.pdf|archive-date=June 29, 2016}}</ref> In the 1940s, four Triple Crown winners followed: [[Whirlaway]] in 1941, [[Count Fleet]] in 1943, [[Assault (horse)|Assault]] in 1946 and [[Citation (horse)|Citation]] in 1948. Count Fleet won the race by a then-record margin of twenty-five lengths.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nusca|first1=Andrew|title=Here are the 12 winners of the Triple Crown|url=http://fortune.com/2015/06/06/triple-crown-winners/|website=Fortune|access-date=30 May 2016|date=7 June 2015}}</ref> He also set a stakes record of 2:28 1/5, a record tied by Citation. In 1957, the stakes record was smashed when [[Gallant Man]] ran the Belmont in 2:26 3/5 in a year when the Triple Crown series was split three ways.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Livingston|first1=Barbara|title=Bygone Belmont winners|url=http://www.drf.com/blogs/bygone-belmont-winners|website=Daily Racing Form}}</ref>

The Belmont Stakes race was held at [[Aqueduct Racetrack]] from 1963 to 1967, while the track at Belmont was restored and renovated.

The largest crowd of the 20th century was in 1971 with over 80,000 people, supplemented by the city's [[Latinos|Latino]] community, there to cheer on their new hero, [[Cañonero II]], the [[Venezuela]]n colt who had won the [[Kentucky Derby]] and [[Preakness Stakes]] and was poised to win the U.S. [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)|Triple Crown]]. However, due to a foot infection that had bothered the horse for several days, Cañonero II failed to 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]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hammonds|first1=Evan|title=First Time By: Inaugural Eclipse Awards|url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/206444/first-time-by-inaugural-eclipse-awards|website=BloodHorse.com}}</ref>

On June 9, 1973, [[Secretariat (horse)|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 (horse)|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 {{frac|1|1|2}} miles on the dirt.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statistics – North American Records|url=http://www.equibase.com/about/northamericanrecords.cfm|website=Equibase|access-date=4 June 2016}}</ref> In 1977, [[Seattle Slew]] became the first horse to win the Triple Crown while undefeated. Affirmed was the last winner of the Triple Crown in the 20th century, taking the Belmont Stakes in 2:26 4/5 on June 10, 1978. Ridden by eighteen-year-old Steve Cauthen, Affirmed defeated rival Alydar with Jorge Velásquez in the saddle. At the time the race was the third-slowest start and the third-fastest finish with the quarter in 25, the half in 50, 3/4 in 1:14, the mile in 1:37 2/5.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fastest Belmonts|url=http://www.belmontstakes.com/history/fastest-belmonts.aspx|website=www.belmontstakes.com|access-date=May 30, 2016}}</ref>

In 1988, Secretariat's son [[Risen Star]] won the Belmont in 2:26 2/5, then the second-fastest time in the history of the race. The next year, [[Easy Goer]] lowered the mark for second-fastest time to 2:26. Easy Goer also holds a [[Beyer Speed Figure]] of 122 for the race, the best of any Triple Crown race since these ratings were first published in 1987.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31625-2004May16.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Andrew |last=Beyer |title=On the Fast Track To History |date=May 17, 2004}}</ref>