The first Belmont Stakes was held at Jerome Park Racetrack in The Bronx, built in 1866 by stock market speculator Leonard Jerome (1817-1891) and financed by August Belmont Sr. (1816-1890), for whom the race was named.

The 1973 Belmont Stakes and Triple Crown winner Secretariat holds the mile and a half stakes record (which is also a track and world record on dirt) of 2:24.

With a field of only two horses, heavily favored Man o' War won the 1 3/8-mile race by 20 lengths over Donnacona.

The Belmont Stakes is traditionally called "The Test of the Champion" because of its 1.5 mile length, making it the longest of the Triple Crown races and typically the longest race that Thoroughbreds who compete in the series will ever run.

War Emblem, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, was the heavy favorite heading into the 2002 Belmont Stakes, but it was Sarava who won at record odds of 70:1.

His record-breaking victory in the Belmont Stakes, which he won by 31 lengths, is widely regarded as one of the greatest races of all time.

James Rowe won with Joe Daniels in 1872 and Springbok in 1873.

The winning horse is draped with a blanket of white carnations, in similar fashion to the blanket of roses and black-eyed Susans for the Derby and Preakness.

"The Sidewalks of New York" is a popular song about life in New York City during the 1890s. It was composed in 1894 by vaudeville actor and singer Charles B. Lawlor with lyrics by James W. Blake.

In 1993, Julie Krone became the first woman to win a Triple Crown race when she rode to victory in the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair.