The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds (57 kg); fillies carry 121 pounds (55 kg). The race, nicknamed The Test of the Champion and The Run for the Carnations, is the traditional third and final leg of the Triple Crown. It is usually held on the first or second Saturday in June, five weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes. The 1973 Belmont Stakes and Triple Crown winner Secretariat holds the mile and a half stakes record of 2:24.
Elusive Quality was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was a record-setting sprinter on the racetrack and the leading sire in North America of 2004. He sired the 2004 Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones.
The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the summer meeting at Saratoga. The past winners of the Gold Cup are a veritable who's who of award-winning Hall of Fame horses, including Easy Goer, Man o' War, Cigar, Skip Away, Curlin, Slew o' Gold, John Henry, Affirmed, Forego, Shuvee, Damascus, Buckpasser, Kelso, Sword Dancer, Nashua, Citation, Whirlaway and War Admiral. Despite the current $1,000,000 purse and Grade 1 status, the stature of the race has suffered somewhat in recent years thanks to the emergence of the Breeders' Cup Classic held not long afterward, as well as a change in distance to 1+1⁄4 miles in 1990, reducing its distinctiveness.
Tonalist is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2014 Belmont Stakes, beating the favored California Chrome, who was attempting to win the Triple Crown. Tonalist won the Peter Pan Stakes in May 2014. He is the first horse since A.P. Indy in 1992 to win the Peter Pan/Belmont double. Later in the year he defeated older horses to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in 2010.
The Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early July at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade I event open to three-year-old fillies, it is raced on turf over a distance of a mile and a quarter. The purse was increased to $1,000,000 in 2014. The race is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" event for the Filly and Mare Turf.
The Prioress Stakes is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the eight-week meet at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.
The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. It is named for prominent racehorse owner William Woodward.
The Vosburgh Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Run at the end of September/early October, it is open to horses three-years-old and up of either gender. A Grade II sprint race, it is raced at a distance of six furlongs and is a major prep to the Breeders' Cup Sprint.
The Peter Pan Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds over a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles run annually during the second week of May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles on the dirt annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The event currently offers a purse of $250,000
A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level is then assigned to the race, based on statistical analysis of the quality of the field in previous years, provided the race meets the minimum purse criteria for the grade in question. In Canada, a similar grading system is maintained by the Jockey Club of Canada. Graded stakes races are similar to Group races in Europe but the grading is more dynamic in North America.
John R. Velazquez is a Puerto Rican jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began his career in Puerto Rico and moved to New York in 1990. In 2004 and 2005 he was the United States Champion Jockey by earnings and both years was given the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey. He was inducted into the Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2012, rode his 5,000th winner in 2013, and became the leading money-earning jockey in the history of the sport in 2014.
The Damon Runyon Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race operated by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) at its Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens. First run in 1979, the annual event is currently contested on dirt over a distance of 7 furlongs. Restricted to horses bred in New York State, it was usually run in the late fall or early winter and open for two-year-olds only until 2020. With no race in 2019, those two-year-olds who turned three in 2020 competed when it was run on March 15th.
Victor Espinoza is a Mexican jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing who won the Triple Crown in 2015 on American Pharoah. He began riding in his native Mexico and went on to compete at racetracks in California. He has won the Kentucky Derby three times, riding War Emblem in 2002, California Chrome in 2014, and American Pharoah in 2015. He also won the Preakness Stakes three times, in those same years and with the same horses. He was the first jockey in history to enter the Belmont Stakes with a third opportunity to win the Triple Crown; his 2015 victory made him the oldest jockey and first Hispanic jockey to accomplish the feat.
In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three races were inaugurated in different years, the last being the Kentucky Derby in 1875. The Triple Crown Trophy, commissioned in 1950 but awarded to all previous winners as well as those after 1950, is awarded to a horse who wins all three races, and is thereafter designated as a Triple Crown winner. The races are traditionally run in May and early June of each year, although global events have resulted in schedule adjustments, such as in 1945 and 2020.
Pine Bluff was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by John Ed Anthony's Loblolly Stable, he was a son of Danzig and grandson of the 20th century's most important sire in the United States, Northern Dancer. His dam, Rowdy Angel, was a daughter of two-time North American Champion sire Halo.
The 2004 Kentucky Derby was the 130th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 1, 2004 and was won by Smarty Jones, who earned a $5 million bonus. There were 140,054 in attendance.
The 2014 Belmont Stakes was the 146th running of the Belmont Stakes. It was run on June 7, 2014, and was televised on NBC. California Chrome had a chance to complete the third leg of the Triple Crown after his victories in the 2014 Kentucky Derby and the 2014 Preakness Stakes. However, it was Tonalist who won the race. Commissioner placed second and Medal Count took third. California Chrome finished in a tie for fourth with Wicked Strong.
The Belmont Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four years old and older held over a distance of two miles on the turf scheduled annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event currently carries a purse of $400,000.
