Belmont Stakes Winners by Year: Stats, Records & Trends

Key Takeaways:

• At its traditional distance of ½ miles, Secretariat holds the fastest time (2:24.0) and largest winning margin (31 lengths).
• At the current distance of 1¼ miles, Dornoch’s 2024 victory marked the fastest time, though the race will return to 1½ miles at Belmont Park in 2026.
• The rail (post 1) has been the most successful post position since 1905, producing 24 winners.

The 2025 Belmont Stakes is coming up Saturday, June 7, at Saratoga Race Course. It is the third and final of the Triple Crown races, and is expected to feature an exciting showdown between Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty, Preakness winner Journalism, Derby third-place finisher Baeza, and several other challengers.

But, before looking ahead to the 2025 Belmont Stakes, let’s take a look back at some of the Belmont records, some recent trends in the Belmont Stakes, and the winners over its long and storied history.

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Belmont Stakes records

Here are some of the most important records in the Belmont Stakes.

Fastest Belmont Stakes

At its 2025 distance of 1 ¼ miles, the fastest running came in 2024 when Dornoch finished in 2:01.64. However, the 1 ¼-mile distance is a historical anomaly: the only times it has been run at that distance, other than the visit to Saratoga during the current Belmont Park construction, were for six runnings sprinkled across the 1890s and 1900s.

Of course, at its traditional 1 ½-mile distance, the fastest Belmont Stakes time was the 2:24.0 run by Triple Crown winner Secretariat in 1973. Over five decades later, the time is still the world record for 1 ¼ miles on dirt.

Biggest win margin

Secretariat’s 31-length victory in the 1973 Belmont Stakes is the longest winning margin in the race. There is a blue and white pole 31 lengths from the Belmont Park finish line to commemorate his finish margin over Twice a Prince.

The only horse that possibly came close was Hanover’s win margin in 1887 over Oneko, his only foe. Measurement of long margins was not as accurately recorded in those days, but official accounts of the time said that Hanover won by 75 yards, which is about 28 lengths.

Two other horses won the Belmont by 20 lengths or more. Count Fleet secured his Triple Crown with a 25-length victory in 1943. Man o’ War, in a match race, won New York’s signature race by 20 lengths in 1920.

Winning Post Positions

Dating back to 1905, the most successful post position for the Belmont Stakes has been the rail, responsible for 24 winners in that time. Other post positions with more than ten winners include post 3 (16 winners), post 5 (15 winners), post 7 (14 winners), post 2 (13 winners), and post 4 (10 winners). Every post up to post 13 has produced at least one winner of the Belmont Stakes, but inner to middle ones have been generally better.

Field Size Records

The Belmont Stakes has never been a walkover, but it has been a match race on five occasions. Hanover beat Oneko in 1887, Sir Dixon beat Prince Royal in 1888, Patron beat Shellbark in 1892, Sweep beat Duke of Ormonde in 1910, and Man o’ War defeated Donnacona in 1920.

Though the Belmont Stakes has never had the 20-horse chaos of the Derby, Caveat won in a field of 15 in 1983. The race has had a field of 14 on three occasions as well, most recently in 2013 when Palace Malice avenged his difficult outing at Churchill Downs with a victory in New York’s signature horse race.

Belmont Stakes Trends

2025 is a strange year for the Belmont Stakes in the sense that it is being run at 1 ¼ miles at Saratoga Race Course, not its usual 1 ½ miles at Belmont Park. However, the race returns to its historical home in 2026, meaning that looking at the trends is not just a fun little exercise, but could help you pick winners in the future.

Last-Out Starts

Since the advent of the points system for the 2013 Triple Crown season, most Belmont winners last raced in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs: six of the twelve. Three have come straight out of the Peter Pan (G3), two from the Kentucky Derby, and one from the Florida Derby (G1)—though that was Tiz the Law in 2020, when the race was the first of the Triple Crown series. From runnings during a normal racing calendar, look to the Triple Crown races or the Peter Pan for Belmont winners.

Running Style

Looking across points-era runnings of the Belmont Stakes, tactical speed has been an excellent attribute for winning horses. In those twelve runnings, Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify are the only ones who led at every call. However, all but three of those points-era winners tracked within a few lengths of the pace. And even the three horses who rallied from midpack or further back—Creator, Sir Winston, and Essential Quality—made early enough moves to be in contention down the lane. The Belmont Stakes has not been a race for truly deep closers.

Belmont Stakes Winners by Year

These are the winners throughout Belmont Stakes history, from a Thursday afternoon at Morris Park in 1867 to the present day.

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