The Third Jewel: My Favorite editions of the Belmont Stakes
Less than a week from now, I will attend a Triple Crown race – and Belmont Park – for the first time when I stand amongst thousands to witness the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes. No Triple Crown is on the line, but I know my heart will be beating as the field breaks from the gate to commence their journey in the mile and one-half Test of the Champion.
Twelve years ago, I fell in love with horse racing as an eight-year-old horse-crazy girl – all because of the Triple Crown. Once my (sentimental) pick for the Kentucky Derby, Smarty Jones, won the first leg of the prestigious series for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, I was hooked. That day, I experienced for the first time the extreme elation horse racing can offer – a feeling that continued when Smarty Jones kept Triple Crown dreams alive with a smashing win in the Preakness Stakes. But when Birdstone passed him in the final strides of the Belmont, I faced the incredible disappointment the sport can also evoke. However, the devastating low could not overtake the overall experience. I had become a fan for life.
Since that fateful spring of loving Smarty Jones, I have not only passionately watched every single Triple Crown race, but I have delved into the sport entirely, making it my career. I have seen firsthand many top-class races in my twelve years as a racing fan – among them four Breeders’ Cups – but I have only ever watched Triple Crown races on a television screen. At last, that will change on Saturday.
In honor of attending my first Belmont, I thought I would take a look back at my top three favorite Belmonts since I have become a racing enthusiast – all of which I watched from the comfort of my own living room.
3. AFLEET ALEX
The 2005 Triple Crown marked my second Triple Crown as a racing fan, and after hearing the story of Afleet Alex during pre-race coverage of the Kentucky Derby, I immediately became loyal to the strapping bay colt. He quickly became my next “racehorse love,” the two before him being Smarty Jones and turf star Better Talk Now. Of course, the son of Northern Afleet would only finish third in the Kentucky Derby – a result that had led me to race my childhood dog while riding my bicycle, pretending that I was Afleet Alex and she was Giacomo. I made it a point to win every single time.
Preakness Day 2005 marked my first trip to the racetrack – not at Pimlico, of course, but at Lone Star Park. After witnessing live racing for the first time, I stood along the rail with my eyes fixed on the big screen in the field to watch as Afleet Alex nearly fell to his knees turning for home before powering away to a 4 ¾-length triumph.
Three weeks later, I watched the Belmont Stakes from home, hoping with all my might that Afleet Alex would again find victory. I parked my nine-year-old self in front of the television, my eyes fixated on Cash is King Stable’s colt as the eleven-horse field loaded into the starting gate.
As the heavy favorite, Afleet Alex broke well from the ninth slot and was soon guided closer to the rail by jockey Jeremy Rose, who had piloted the colt in all but one of his races since the colt won his debut at Delaware Park as a two-year-old. The Preakness winner joined the rear of the main group of horses around the sweeping first turn, remaining in that position between horses as the field entered the backstretch.
As the horses made their way down the far side of Belmont’s expansive track, Afleet Alex gradually began to advance his position but still remained nearly ten lengths behind the leader, Pinpoint, more than five furlongs out from the wire. Around the far turn, Afleet Alex continued to inch closer but it was Derby winner Giacomo who made the first noticeable move of the bunch, collaring the leaders around the curve.
Meanwhile, Rose had still not moved a muscle aboard Afleet Alex, who still sat several lengths from the lead as Giacomo took the lead outside the quarter mole. Then, suddenly, Afleet Alex kicked into gear and maneuvered through traffic rapidly, reaching Giacomo by the end of the turn.
And, then, in the most eye-catching fashion, Afleet Alex accelerated to the front. In the words of announcer Tom Durkin, “Afleet Alex just ran right by Giacomo like he was standing still!”
In a mile and one-half dirt race like the Belmont, horses simply do not have an explosive turn of foot – only the special ones do. And Afleet Alex certainly stamped himself as a special horse as his commanding stride carried him away from his opponents. To a resounding crowd at Belmont Park, the bay colt powered to a 7-length victory. His stunning burst of speed had been no optical illusion, either; Afleet Alex’s final quarter-mile of 24.50 was – at the time – the fastest since 1969.
The Belmont would be the final race of Afleet Alex's career but he was nonetheless honored as the 2005 Champion Three-Year-Old Male for his remarkable spring performances, and he will always remain as one of my all-time favorite racehorses.
History was on the line for the 2007 Belmont Stakes, but not of the Triple Crown sort. Kentucky Oaks winner Rags to Riches was looking to become the first filly to win the third leg of the Triple Crown since 1905. She was also carrying the hopes of trainer Todd Pletcher, who was aiming to win his first elusive Triple Crown race, having gone 0-for-28 in his career.
Only seven horses loaded into the starting gate for the race, with Rags to Riches drawn to the outside. Although the field was lacking in quantity, it certainly was not lacking in quality. The 2007 three-year-old crop has been regarded as one of the strongest ones in recent years, and even though Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense was not among those competing for the trophy, the race still included Preakness winner Curlin, Kentucky Derby runner-up Hard Spun, and Santa Anita Derby winner Tiago.
As they broke from the gate, Rags to Riches stumbled badly but immediately recovered with John Velazquez aboard. The daughter of 1992 Belmont winner A.P. Indy raced wide going into the first turn as she settled near the back of the main group of horses.
The filly galloped along in fifth down the backstretch to Curlin’s outside. She remained even with the Preakness winner as Velazquez kept her several paths off the rail in the perfect stalking position. The two remained nearly in sync as the field made its way into the final turn, with Curlin down on the inside and Rags to Riches remaining wide.
But midway through the far turn, Rags to Riches gained an advantage over Curlin, beginning to make her move on the outside as Curlin remained trapped behind a wall of horses. This lasted for only a brief moment, however, as Robby Albarado – aboard Curlin – found an opening and guided his charge between leader C P West and Hard Spun as the field turned for home.
Meanwhile, Rags to Riches was even with the leaders as the four horses formed a wall at the end of the turn. At the top of the stretch, the two chestnuts edged away from the others as they powered toward the finish line. Rags to Riches gained the lead, stretching her neck in front as Curlin battled back on the inside, refusing to surrender. With tenacity, Rags to Riches pinned her ears as she fought to keep the lead despite Curlin’s every effort to get his nose in front. In a battle of the sexes for the ages, Rags to Riches refused to let him by. No one was getting past Rags to Riches that day – not even the eventual Horse of the Year – as she prevailed by a head in one of the most exciting finishes in Belmont history.
In a decade abounding with fantastic fillies and mares, Rags to Riches' Belmont victory was among the standout performances. I cannot help but think fondly of the dogged, blaze-faced daughter of A.P. Indy, recalling Tom Durkin's exclamation, "It's gonna be a filly in the Belmont!"
I became a racing fan the year a Triple Crown was on the line, and was immediately exposed to the extreme disappointment of a failed bid. Throughout the years, with one unfulfilled Triple Crown after another, my understanding of the true difficulty of the series grew.
After years of watching the Triple Crown from home, it finally became somewhat tangible to me in a peculiar way. My paths crossed with American Pharoah at Churchill Downs during the week before he departed for Belmont. I was able to see the bay colt put in his final two works before his defining race, as well as see him up close and personal. Being around him, it was clear he was something special; he breathed different air.
When Belmont Day rolled around, I felt more confident than I ever had about a Triple Crown attempt as I watched from my living room. My eyes – along with those of the nation – focused on American Pharoah as he went straight to the lead despite not breaking sharply. Once the Bob Baffert trainee secured a comfortable lead going into the first turn with his ears pricked, I was almost entirely certain he had it.
He did not disappoint. With Victor Espinoza aboard, American Pharoah led the way around Belmont’s sprawling oval through steady fractions. His absolutely effortless strides, combined with his happy expression, kept me confident throughout the mile and one-half journey as every fiber of my being focused on the bay Thoroughbred on my television screen.
Around the far turn, American Pharoah maintained his lead, beginning to edge away from the rivals that could only hope to thwart his run at history. Espinoza remained a statue aboard the long striding bay colt and despite an attempted rally from Frosted, American Pharoah ran away from the field and into the history books as the Belmont Park crowd roared him home. Meanwhile, American households – including mine – cheered as if they were in Elmont, New York.
In the second fastest Belmont ever completed by a horse that swept the series, American Pharoah had become only the twelfth horse in history to win the Triple Crown. The final time: 2:26.55. The final winning margin: 5 ½ lengths. The statistics will always be a piece of history, and the utter joy I experienced when I witnessed my first Triple Crown will always be one of my most memorable moments.