SARATOGA — By Mike Curry

This year’s Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets will be held June 8, but there is a notable twist to the final jewel of the 2024 Triple Crown.

The race typically is held at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., however the famed racetrack currently is undergoing a massive renovation, and that construction forced the race to be moved to upstate New York for two years (2024 and 2025) where it will be held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., another iconic horse racing venue.

The prospective field for the 2024 Belmont Stakes looks expecially strong with Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve winner Mystik Dan among the runners tentatively targeting the race along with Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey, Kentucky Derby runner-up Sierra Leone, champion Fierceness, and several other Derby participants slated to compete. To help get you ready for the final jewel of the Triple Crown, below are 17 interesting facts about the race called the “Test of the Champion.”

1. The Belmont Stakes is the oldest of the three Triple Crown races.

It was first held in 1867, and this year is the 156th running, compared with the 150th Derby and 149th Preakness. The Belmont Stakes is the fourth-oldest stakes race in North America. The Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland was first run in 1831, the King’s Plate in Canada held its inaugural race in 1860, and the Travers started at Saratoga in 1864.

2. The 2020 Belmont Stakes marked the first time since 1926 that the race was not contested at its famed 1 ½-mile distance, and for the next two years (2024 and 2025) it will be held at 1 1/4 miles.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to many racetracks being temporarily shut down, the postponement or cancellation of key races on the Triple Crown trail, and the interruption of training schedules for trainers and their racehorses. That prompted the Belmont Stakes to be held at 1 1/8 miles around one turn and scheduled as the first leg of the Triple Crown instead of the last one for the first time in the race’s history. The race returned to its normal distance and placement as the final leg of the Triple Crown for the next three editions, but the construction project underway at Belmont Park led to changes again … starting this year.

Belmont Park features a 1 ½-mile oval, while Saratoga Race Course is a one-mile main track. Saratoga’s layout makes it nearly impossible to hold 1 ½-mile races on the main track, thus the Belmont Stakes will be held at 1 ¼ miles for the next two years. That’s the same distance as the Kentucky Derby and Saratoga’s signature summer race, the Travers Stakes.

3. A record crowd of 120,139 turned out to watch Smarty Jones vie for the Triple Crown in 2004.

The fan favorite was beaten by 36-1 longshot Birdstone. The second-largest crowd of 103,322 came two years beforehand when 70.25-1 Sarava upset War Emblem in the latter’s bid for a Triple Crown in 2002. Sarava was trained by Kenny McPeek, who could have two contenders for this year’s Belmont Stakes in the afdorementioned Mystik Dan and Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna. Neither will be 70-1!

4. Historically, the betting favorite has won the Belmont Stakes 43% of the time (66 of 155 runnings) and four of the last six editions featured winning favorites: Mo Donegal (2022), Essential Quality (2021), Tiz the Law (2020), and Justify (2018). Sir Winston in 2019 paid $22.40 for a $2 win bet and Arcangelo last year was the fifth choice in the betting, returning $17.80 for a $2 win bet.

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