On Saturday June 11th, it’s the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park Racetrack, Long Island, New York. First run in 1867 at Jerome Park Racetrack, New York, the Belmont Stakes was moved to Morris Park Racecourse, New York in 1890, Belmont Park in 1905 and 1968, later became the final leg of the Triple Crown until 2019, moved to Aqueduct Racetrack, New York in 1963, became the first leg of the Triple Crown in 2020 due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, and again became the final leg of the Triple Crown from 2021 onward. The Belmont Stakes is a race for horses three years old going a mile and one half on dirt, and the purse of the race is 1,500,000 dollars. So far, there are only thirteen horses who could win all three races of the Triple Crown by winning the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs Racetrack, Louisville, Kentucky, Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Racecourse, Baltimore, Maryland, and Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. The twelve winners who won all three races of the Triple Crown in the order of Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes are Sir Barton (1919), who also finished second to the 1920 Preakness Stakes and 1920 Belmont Stakes winner Man O’ War in the 1920 Kenilworth Park Gold Cup at Kenilworth Park Racetrack, Canada, Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), who also finished second to the 1938 Hollywood Gold Cup winner Seabiscuit in the 1938 Pimlico Special at Pimlico Racecourse, Whirlaway (1941), who also finished second to the 1942 Preakness Stakes winner Alsab in the 1942 Match Race at Narragansett Park Racetrack, Rhode Island, Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), who also won the 1951 Hollywood Gold Cup at Hollywood Park Racetrack, Inglewood, California, Secretariat (1973), who also won both 1972 and 1973 Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year, and 1973 Canadian International at Woodbine Racetrack, Canada, Seattle Slew (1977), who also ran against the 1976 Champagne Stakes winner J. O. Tobin in the 1977 Swaps Stakes (now called the Los Alamitos Derby, when the race was moved to Los Alamitos Racecourse, Orange County, California in 2014) at Hollywood Park, Affirmed (1978), who also won both 1978 and 1979 Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year, American Pharoah (2015), who also won the 2014 Del Mar Futurity at Del Mar Racetrack, San Diego, California, and 2015 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year, and Justify (2018), who also won the 2018 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. The only horse who won all three races of the Triple Crown in the order of Preakness Stakes, Kentucky Derby, and Belmont Stakes is Gallant Fox, back in 1930. There are no horses who could win all three races of the Triple Crown in the order of Belmont Stakes, Kentucky Derby, and Preakness Stakes. This year’s Belmont Stakes has a field of eight horses which include We the People, winner of the 2022 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park, Nest, winner of the 2022 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland Racecourse, Lexington, Kentucky, Rich Strike, winner of the 2022 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, and Mo Donegal, winner of the 2022 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. There is no Triple Crown winner this year because the 2022 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike did not enter in this year’s running of the Preakness Stakes held on Saturday May 21st 2022, and also the 2022 Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting did not enter in this year’s Belmont Stakes. Being ridden by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., the racehorse Mo Donegal won the 2022 Belmont Stakes. In an interview with newspaper website USA Today, Mo Donegal’s co-owner Mike Repole said, “This had been a dream I’ve had for 40 years. This (Belmont Stakes) is New York’s race,” (Henderson, 1). Repole is also the owner of the second place finisher Nest, under jockey Jose Ortiz (brother of Irad Ortiz Jr). The following photo from Bloodhorse showed number 6 horse Mo Donegal (wearing black and yellow saddle cloth), under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (wearing blue cap), about to cross the wire first in the 2022 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park.
Horse Racing Highlights 