Every year in the town of Elmont, New York is one of the biggest professional hose races in the United States today; the Belmont Stakes. This competition is an American grade I stakes horse race that showcases thoroughbred horses from all over the world. The race is almost always held in June and takes place at Elmont’s famed Belmont Park and features a 1.5 miles, or 12 furlong race around the field’s dirt left handed track.
| Event | Location | Ticket Prices | Date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 Belmont Stakes | Belmont Park Elmont, NY |
Jun8sat9:30 AM | see tickets | |||
|
||||||
| Updating | ||||||
The race, which first began in 1867 only features thoroughbred horses that are at least three years old. The Colt/Geldings in the race carry a weight of 126 pounds while the filly horses in the race carry a race of 121 pounds. Although it has a long history in its own right for being one of the most famous and established horse races in the United States, most people know this race specifically for being the third and final leg of the US Trip Crown.
The positioning of the Belmont Stakes in the Triple Crown race is why the event is always held in June. It is designed to take place on a Saturday and is slated to take place after the 5th of June and before June 11th. This timing allows the Belmont Stakes to take place exactly five weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes, to give the racers adequate timing for recovery in their attempts to win the US Triple Crown. The average purse for the race now totals around $1 million with the first place rider getting $600,000.
To this date, the Belmont Stakes is not only one of the oldest professional horse races in the United States with over 150 year history, but it is also one of the most watched as well. According to recent studies it is actually one of the most attended races in the country and usually gets more viewers and attendees than all of the other stakes races. It is also known for being one of the most watched races on television, annually pulling in tens of millions of viewers as the whole world watches anxiously to see if the winner of the Belmont Stakes can secure the spot as a Triple Crown winner.
