Belmont Stakes 2024

The final leg of the American Triple Crown is the Belmont Stakes, a 1 1/2 mile race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, every June. The race carries a purse of $1.5 million and usually draws one of if not both the winners of the Kentucky Derby and/or Preakness Stakes.

The Belmont Stakes is unusual in that most of the runners in the field have never gone 12 furlongs, nor will they ever go that distance again, so it is called The Test of the Champion due to the need for stamina. But because of its position as the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes can be quite the event in racing when a horse with a chance to sweep the Triple is entered. That honor most recently went to Justify in 2018.

The Belmont Stakes heads a spectacular weekend of racing at Belmont Park, with three stakes races held on the Thursday of Belmont week, and another five races held on Friday. On the Belmont Stakes undercard are races such as the $1 million Metropolitan Handicap (Met Mile), the $750,000 Manhattan, the $500,000 Acorn, and the $500,000 Ogden Phipps - all are Grade 1 events. This card of racing is considered to be second only to the Breeders’ Cup for its exceptional quality and eight Grade 1 races on a single program.

Three fillies have won the Belmont Stakes, most recently with Rags to Riches in 2007. The 2022 victor was Mo Donegal.