The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of 1+1⁄2 miles. 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, The Test of Champions 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 track record of 2:24.
Nasrullah was a Thoroughbred racehorse that was bred in Ireland and trained in the United Kingdom before becoming a champion sire in both Europe and North America. As a two-year-old, he won the Coventry Stakes and finished second in the Middle Park Stakes, ending the year as the top-rated colt of his generation. In the following season, he became increasingly difficult to manage, and his temperament compromised his racing career. He was the beaten favourite in the 2,000 Guineas and finished a close third in the Derby Stakes before winning the Champion Stakes. As a breeding stallion he stood in England, Ireland, and the United States and had great success in each location.
Bernardini was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2006 Preakness Stakes and Travers Stakes.
A.P. Indy was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic on his way to American Horse of the Year honors in 1992. His time in the Belmont Stakes tied Easy Goer for the second-fastest running in the history of the race, behind his damsire Secretariat.
Genuine Risk was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare best known for winning the 1980 Kentucky Derby.
Deputy Minister was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred horse racing Champion. At age two, he won eight out of his nine starts and was voted both the Sovereign and Eclipse Awards for Champion 2-Year-Old in Canada and the United States respectively. He also received Canada's Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year. Although his three-year-old campaign was restricted by injury, Deputy Minister rebounded at age four with several major wins.
Shadwell Racing is the Thoroughbred horse racing operations of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Nureyev (1977–2001) was an American-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and champion sire. As a racehorse, he was best known as the disqualified "winner" of the 2000 Guineas in 1980.
Kiaran P. McLaughlin is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer best known for training 2006 Horse of the Year Invasor.
Curlin is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the American Horse of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. He retired in 2008 as the highest North American money earner with over US$10.5 million accumulated. His major racing wins included the 2007 Preakness Stakes, 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic, and 2008 Dubai World Cup. In August 2008, Timeform assigned a 134 rating for Curlin, calling him the best horse in the world on dirt. Curlin was elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in 2014, his first year of eligibility.
Rags to Riches is a retired champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2007 Belmont Stakes, the first filly to win it in over a century.
Summer Squall was an American thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for his win in the 1990 Preakness Stakes, and his rivalry with Unbridled, whom he defeated in four of their six meetings. He later became a successful breeding stallion siring the Kentucky Derby winner Charismatic.
Friesan Fire is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by 1992 American Horse of the Year, A.P. Indy, a son of the 1977 U.S. Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew. His dam, Bollinger, is an Australian Group One winner and a daughter of 1993 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, Dehere. Bred by Grapestock LLC, he was sold for $725,000 at the Keeneland yearling sale in September 2007.
I Want Revenge was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was one of the favorites to win the 2009 Kentucky Derby.
Tapit is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three of his six races, including the Wood Memorial Stakes, then a Grade I event. He was an immediate success after retiring to stud, becoming the leading freshman sire in North America of 2008 with Breeders' Cup winner Stardom Bound becoming his first Grade I winner. He was the leading sire in North America in 2014, setting an earnings record that he broke in 2015 and again in 2016. For the 2015 season, his stud fee was raised to $300,000, the highest in North America. In 2021, Essential Quality became his fourth Belmont Stakes winner, tying him for the all-time record of winners sired in this race with the great Lexington.
Man of Iron, foaled in Kentucky in 2006, is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by Giant's Causeway and out of the mare Better Than Honour, he was bred by Skara Glen Stables. He was sold as a yearling to Racing Partners Smith/Magnier/Tabor, who turned over his training to Aidan O'Brien.
Super Saver is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2010 Kentucky Derby.
Union Rags is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2012 Belmont Stakes. He also won the Champagne Stakes and the Saratoga Special Stakes
Countess Diana was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. As a two-year-old in 1997, she dominated the juvenile fillies division in North America, winning five of her six races including the Schuylerville Stakes, Spinaway Stakes, Alcibiades Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. At the end of the year she was voted American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly and rated the best American two-year-old filly for more than fifty years. Her subsequent racing career was relatively disappointing: she failed to win in four starts in 1998 before winning two minor races in 1999. After her retirement from racing she had limited success as a broodmare and died in 2006.
Chimes of Freedom was an American-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. Bred in Kentucky by her owner Stavros Niarchos she was sent to race in England where she was trained by Henry Cecil. She was one of the best juvenile fillies of her generation in Europe, winning four of her five races including the Cherry Hinton Stakes in Britain and the Moyglare Stud Stakes in Ireland. In the following year she did not contest any of the classics but recorded major victories in the Coronation Stakes and the Child Stakes. After being retired at the end of the season she became a highly successful broodmare, producing several major winners.
