And down the stretch they come

The 143rd running of the Belmont Stakes will take place on June 11. This 1 1/2 mile race known as the “Test of the Champion” is for three-year-olds and will be a part of 13 race programs starting at 11:35 a.m. The purse for this historic race is $1 million.
This year there will be no Triple Crown winner. Shackleford who won the Preakness Stakes will face-off with Animal Kingdom who won the Kentucky Derby. Right now the only other horse that ran in the first two legs of this year’s run for the crown is Mucho Macho Man. He finished a disappointing sixth after losing his left front shoe during the race.
Derby second place finisher Nehro, who skipped the Preakness, is planning on running in the Belmont Stakes. Other three-year-olds putting Belmont in their plans are Master of Hounds, fifth in the Derby, along with sixth place finisher Santiva.
(Click here for a handicapping of the race)
Triple Crown winners are a rare breed. Secretariat and his 31-length romp in the 1973 Belmont Stakes is probably the most famous. Of course most racing fans remember him by his nickname “Big Red” when he was guided by jockey Ron Turcotte.
Millions of fans world-wide have the image of Turcotte looking back for other riders as he and Big Red turned in the record shattering time of 2:24, which remains the track record for this event.
Four years later another great champion won the Triple Crown – Seattle Slew. He remains the only horse to ever go unbeaten to win the Triple Crown. Going into the Belmont Stakes he had won nine straight races. It was only after his great test in the Belmont did any horse succeed in defeating him.
One year later Affirmed captured the Triple Crown. With three Triple Crown winners in the 70’s racing fans thought it was becoming an easy task. But 1978 was the last of the Triple Crown winners. There have been only 11 Triple Crown winners since 1867. More significantly, the Belmont Stakes has stopped 19 Derby/Preakness winners from joining the elite group.
In 2008 all eyes turned to a horse named Big Brown. A crowd of 94,476 gathered at Belmont, figuring history would be made. Big Brown had won the Derby and Preakness easily and his closest competition was scratched in the morning. Everyone thought this would be a sure thing.
History was denied that day. A 38-1 shot by the name Da Tara won the race going wire to wire winning by 5 1/2 lengths. Big Brown finished last that day. He was eased by his jockey Kent Desomeaux.
This led to a hotly debated topic in horse racing circles.
What happen to Big Brown? There was no race injury just a photo which was released showing a loose right hind shoe. This never proved to be the reason for his poor race performance, but it made for good water cooler conversation.
That year’s race did help the reputation of Brooklyn born trainer Nick Zito. He was the trainer whose horse named Birdstome won the 2004 Belmont killing the chances of another crowd favorite named Smarty Jones. Birdstone was also a 38-1 shot. So when Da Tara won four years later it cemented Zito’s reputation as a giant slayer.
Probably the most impressive human record in the Belmont Stakes is held by trainer Woody Stephens. His five straight wins in the Belmont Stakes is a record that will not likely to be broken. Until his death in 1998 Stephens wore a watch that was a present from New York Yankees Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio. Like Stephens we all know Joe D’s 56 game hitting streak has never been broken.
Stephens five winners were – Conquistador 1982); Caveat (1983); Swale 1984); Crème Frache (1985) and Danzig Connection (1986).
It was not until the 125th running of Belmont before a women jockey won the race. That was done in 1993 by Julie Krone on Colonial Affair. She rode in four other Belmont Stakes.
The gates for the Belmont Stakes will open at 8:30 a,m. Grandstand admission is $10 and Clubhouse admission is $20. On Belmont Stakes Day no alcoholic beverages of any kind will be permitted into the track. The main entrance to the track is Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont, N.Y.
The Belmont Stakes back in May of 1905 made history for another reason – it caused the first traffic jam in Long Island’s history. Because of this the New York Racing Association has arranged alternate transportation. There will be six courtesy buses that will run from
10 a.m-9 p.m. to accommodate residents of Floral Park and Elmont.
For more information on these shuttles or anything regarding Belmont NYRA.com would be a good place for all your questions.