The Most Exciting Horse Racing Action at Belmont Park

Belmont Park is a 430-acre horse racing track in Elmont, New York. Two racing seasons are normally held at Belmont Park each year: the Spring/Summer season which is typically held from May to July; and the Fall season which is usually held from September to October.

Belmont Park is most famous for being the home of the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel in American horse racing’s Triple Crown. At 1½ miles, it is the longest, oldest and said to be the most challenging of the three races comprising the Triple Crown (the other two being the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes). The race is held five weeks after the Kentucky Derb.

The great Man o' War heads the list of Belmont Stakes champions. He won the Belmont Park signature race in 1920, and three of his sires subsequently won it as well: American Flag in 1925, Crusader in 1926 and Triple Crown winner War Admiral in 1937. Another legendary horse, Secretariat, set a world record of 2:24 for the fastest run of a mile and a half distance on a dirt track. The record still stands to this day.

In addition to the Belmont Stakes, many other big-ticket stakes events are held at Belmont Park each year. Among them are:

• The Man O' War
• The Garden City Breeders’ Cup
• The Beldame
• The Kelso Breeders’ Cup
• The Gazelle
• The Woodward
• The Jockey Club Gold Cup
• The Frizette
• The Floral Park
• more stakes races list

Belmont Park History

Inspired by the success of Saratoga race track, Leonard Jerome decided to bring organized horse racing to the metropolitan New York City area. He opened Jerome Park in 1866 near Fordham. The Belmont Stakes had its beginnings at Jerome Park. Jerome named the race for his good friend, August Belmont, who helped finance the new race track. The track was closed in 1887, however, as the city needed the property for a reservoir.

In the early 1900s, August Belmont II and William Collins Whitney had a vision to build the most lavish track ever built in the U.S. The result was the 1½ mile oval Belmont Park, which officially opened on May 4, 1905. Many of the major stakes from the old Jerome and Morris Parks were transferred to Belmont Park, and this includes the Belmont Stakes. In keeping with English tradition, races at Belmont Park were initially run clockwise on its 1.5 mile oval with a 7-furlong straightaway.

However, New York state law banned racing and betting in 1910, and Belmont Park shifted to hosting aerial tournaments and activities. In 1913, racing was again legalized and Belmont Park regained its luster.

Over the succeeding years, save for a massive fire in 1917, Belmont Park flourished. Many of America's famous horses have had the opportunity to race at Belmont Park. Citation became a favorite at Belmont Park as he won multiple stakes races on his way to winning the 1948 Triple Crown; while Secretariat won the 1973 Belmont Stakes en route to capturing that year's Triple Crown.