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Belmont
Park is a 430-acre racetrack in Elmont, N.Y.
The 2009 Belmont Stakes takes place on June 6 and will be the
141st running of this Grade 1 horse race. The prize purse is
$1 million. The third jewel of the Triple Crown is the Belmont
Stakes, held five weeks after the Kentucky Derby at Belmont
Park in Elmont, New York.
2009 Belmont Stakes “ triple crown”
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The Belmont Stakes was first run on June 19, 1867,
at the Jerome Park race course, an oddly shaped, English-style
track that required the Jockeys and horses to run three turns instead of two because of a
dip in the middle of the backstretch. A filly named
“Ruthless” won the first Belmont's $1,850 winners
purse, outlasting DeCourcey by a head. The race has
been run every since, with the exception of 1911 and
'12, and the Belmont has established itself as the
ultimate test of championship stamina in this country. |
Belmont, New York
June 6, 2009
Bet on the 141st Belmont Stakes and get triple Crown
odds "Here" |
Its 1-1/2-mile distance now
has become a rarity in American dirt races. The Belmont was
even longer in its early days at 1-5/8 miles through 1873.
But from 1890 through 1926, the race dropped down to
distances varying between 1-1/8 and 1-3/8 miles. The 1926
Belmont was run at 1-1/2 miles and was won by Crusader, a
son of the legendary Man o' War, in a time of 2:32-1/5. The
race has been run at that distance ever since.
Belmont Trophy
The Belmont Stakes trophy is a Tiffany-made silver bowl, with
cover, 18 inches high, 15 inches across and 14 inches at the
base. Atop the cover is a silver figure of Fenian, winner of
the third running of the Belmont Stakes in 1869. The bowl is
supported by three horses representing the three foundation
thoroughbreds Eclipse, Herod and Matchem. The trophy, a solid
silver bowl originally crafted by Tiffany's, was presented by
the Belmont family as a perpetual award for the Belmont Stakes
in 1926. It was the trophy August Belmont's Fenian won in 1869
and had remained with the Belmont family since that time. The
winning owner is given the option of keeping the trophy for
the year their horse reigns as Belmont champion.
The Belmont Stakes is called the "Run for the Carnations"
because of the blanket of white carnations that are draped
over the winner's neck. This year's race was held on Saturday
June 9th, 2007 and won by Rags to Riches, the first filly to
win the race since 1905 (and the third filly ever). Because of
its length (one lap around the enormous Belmont main track),
and because it is the final race of the Triple Crown, it is
called the "Test of the Champion". Most three-year-olds are
unaccustomed to the distance, and lack the experience, if not
the ability, to maintain a winning speed for so long. In a
long race such as the Belmont, positioning of the horse and
the timing of the move to chase for the lead can be critical.
Because of its distance and status as the race that can make
or break a Triple Crown champion, the Belmont Stakes has been
the venue for some of the most famous moments in American
racing. 2008
Belmont Stakes 139th Winner
Da'Tara wins
Belmont to deny Big Brown Triple Crown
Da' Tara won
the Belmont Stakes, spoiling favorite Big
Brown's bid to become the first winner of horse
racing's Triple Crown in 30 years.
| Da' Tara,
ridden by Alan Garcia, went wire-to-wire and won by 5 1/2
lengths in 2:29.65 with Denis of Cork second. There was a
dead heat for third between Anak Nakal and Ready's Echo.
Big Brown didn't respond
at the urging of jockey Kent Desormeaux in the final turn
and was pulled up. The previously undefeated colt finished
last in the 140th running of the 1 1/2- mile race, the
longest of the Triple Crown events.
More Belmont Stakes Winners
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