By US Racing Team
Prior to the 2016 running, bay horses had the most Belmont Stakes victories with 56. Chestnuts are close behind with 54 wins, followed by 33 dark bay or brown. Only three gray/roan horses had won the Belmont prior (Belmar in 1895, Native Dancer in 1953 and High Echelon in 1970), but in 2016 gray horses swept the top three positions (Creator, Destin and Lani) and in 2021, the gray champion Essential Quality wore the carnations.
Heading into this year’s running, 50 winners have been bay and 55 have been chestnut. The dark bay/brown coloring has reached the winner’s circle 30 times. Gray horses have won four, black have won three times and a single roan horse has worn the blanket of carnations.
Belmont Stakes Horses
Nine winners have sired one winner — Duke of Magenta (1878) sired Eric (1889), Spendthrift (1879) sired Hastings (1896), Hastings (1896) sired Masterman (1902), The Finn (1915) sired Zev (1923), Sword Dancer (1959) sired Damascus (1967), Secretariat (1973) sired Risen Star (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995) sired Point Given (2001), A.P. Indy (1992) sired Rags to Riches (2007) and Birdstone (2004) sired Summer Bird (2009).
Belmomt Stakes Winners
Nine horses bred outside the United States have won the Belmont Stakes – 1874, Saxon (England); 1898, Bowling Brook (England); 1917, Hourless (England); 1918, Johren (England); 1957, Gallant Man (England); 1958, Cavan (Ireland); 1960, Celtic Ash (England); 1990, Go and Go (Ireland); 1998, Victory Gallop (Canada).
Kentucky has produced the most Belmont winners by far at 104, followed by Virginia with 11, New Jersey and New York with seven each, England with six, Florida with six, Pennsylvania and Tennessee with three, California, Maryland, Texas and Ireland with two each, and Montana and Canada with one a piece.
Overall, 23 horses missed a chance at a Triple Crown glory by not winning the Belmont, eight of which finished second — Pensive (1944), Tim Tam (1958), Forward Pass (1968), Majestic Prince (1969), Sunday Silence (1989), Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998) and Smarty Jones (2004). Five finished third — Northern Dancer (1964), Spectacular Bid (1979), Pleasant Colony (1981), Charismatic (1999) and Funny Cide (2003). Four finished fourth — Kauai King (1966), Canonero II (1971), Alysheba (1987) and California Chrome (2014). Carry Back (1961) finished seventh, War Emblem (2002) finished eighth and Big Brown (2008) did not finish.
Three Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners did not race in the Belmont — Burgoo King (1932), Bold Venture (1933) and I’ll Have Another (2012), though I’ll Have Another was injured and was scratched the day before his Belmont Stakes in 2012. This year’s Kentucky Derby winner Mage will bypass the Belmont while Preakness Stakes winner National Treasure is expected to be in the gate.
So far, 2064 horses have started in the Belmont Stakes.
2023 Belmont Stakes Contenders, Odds and Post Positions
| PP | Horse | Odds | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tapit Shoes | 3-1 | Brad H. Cox | Jose Ortiz |
| 2 | Tapit Trice | 3-1 | Todd A. Pletcher | Luis Saez |
| 3 | Arcangelo | 8-1 | Jena M. Antonucci | Javier Castellano |
| 4 | National Treasure | 5-1 | Bob Baffert | John R. Velazquez |
| 5 | Il Miracolo | 30-1 | Antonio Sano | Marcos Meneses |
| 6 | Forte | 5-2 | Todd A. Pletcher | Irad Ortiz, Jr. |
| 7 | Hit Show | 10-1 | Brad H. Cox | Manuel Franco |
| 8 | Angel of Empire | 7-2 | Brad H. Cox | Flavien Prat |
| 9 | Red Route One | 15-1 | Steve M. Asmussen | Joel Rosario |