Fastest Belmont Stakes Times in History: Top 10 Record-Breaking Runs

Key Takeaways:

• At the traditional length of 1½ miles, Secretariat earned the all-time fastest Belmont Stakes time in 1973 with an impressive 2:24.0. That record still stands to this day.
• Others have come relatively close over the years: Easy Goer (2:26.0, 1989), A.P. Indy (2:26.13, 1992), and Risen Star (2:26.4, 1988).
• Though Dornoch’s 2024 record of 2:01.64 was impressive, it was at the temporary 1¼-mile distance run at Saratoga during Belmont Park renovations.
• Unsurprisingly, a few of these horses became Triple Crown victors with their Belmont win (like American Pharoah and Affirmed), and other standouts excelled in the Belmont without winning the other two races.

The Belmont Stakes is the final jewel of the Triple Crown, five weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes. It is the oldest Triple Crown race, having been run since 1867, and some of the greatest horses in history have won the Belmont Stakes.

But do you know who ran the fastest Belmont Stakes races in history? Some of them are Triple Crown winners and all-time horse racing greats. However, much like Monarchos being the only horse other than Secretariat and Sham to run the Derby in less than two minutes, some of the other fastest horses in Belmont Stakes history may surprise you.

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Here are the fastest horses in the history of the Test of the Champion.

Honorable Mention: Dornoch (2024) - 2:01.64

When discussing fastest times in the Belmont Stakes, it makes sense to talk in terms of the traditional 1 ½-mile distance at Belmont Park. It has covered that trip for most of its history, and will return to that distance when it returns to Belmont in 2026. However, with the 2025 edition of the race covering 1 ¼ miles at Saratoga, we must give a nod to the Belmont Stakes record holder in the 1 ¼-mile editions of the race.

That is Dornoch, who won the 2024 edition in a solid 2:01.64. To be fair, he never threatened the 1 ¼-mile track record at Saratoga, the mind-boggling 1:59.36 set by Arrogate in the 2016 Travers. But, it was the first Belmont Stakes at 1 ¼ miles in over 100 years: the race had only been run at that distance in 1890-92, 1895, and 1904-05 at Morris Park Racecourse. The quickest time among those winners was the 2:06.6 by Delhi, a figure that Dornoch blew out of the water.

10. Creme Fraiche (1985) - 2:26.82

Instead of preparing in the Triple Crown races, Creme Fraiche earned his first graded-stakes win a week in the Derby Trial (G3) at Churchill Downs, then finished second behind Kentucky Derby winner Spend a Buck in the Jersey Derby. With Spend a Buck chasing a New Jersey bonus that year, Creme Fraiche got out from behind the shadow of the Derby winner by joining the Triple Crown trail in the Belmont Stakes. Purple Mountain, goaded by Eternal Prince and Cutlass Reality, set a lively pace. That was great news for Creme Fraiche, who was able to chase well off the pace, make an outside run around the far turn, and outgame stablemate Stephan’s Odyssey to win by half a length in a time that still holds as the tenth fastest in Belmont Stakes history.

9. Tabasco Cat (1994) - 2:26.82

Though he couldn’t threaten Go for Gin in the run for the roses, Tabasco Cat turned the tables two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes, setting up a rubber match three weeks later in the Belmont Stakes.

Go for Gin set the early pace as he was wont to do, but Pat Day knew Belmont Park well enough to know he couldn’t let Tabasco Cat sit very far back. He stalked in close range of Go For Gin, and though the pacesetter looked comfortable while holding a measured lead around the far turn, Tabasco Cat bore down to his outside into the lane. He poked a head in front near the three sixteenths and edged away, winning by two lengths over the Derby winner.

8. Affirmed (1978) - 2:26.8

Affirmed versus Alydar remains one of the greatest rivalries in horse racing history. Affirmed won the Derby, taking advantage of a more tactical position and leaving Alydar 1 ½ lengths behind at the wire. Alydar launched a stronger threat in the Preakness Stakes, bearing down on Affirmed in the late stages, but Affirmed held by a gritty neck.

In the last of the three Triple Crown events, it looked like Alydar and jockey Jorge Velazquez learned their lesson. They were closer up early, and engaged Affirmed and Steve Cauthen into the backstretch. The duel began in earnest partway down the back straight. Neither horse relented, but Affirmed had that little bit more. He hit the wire a head in front, becoming the 11th horse to sweep all three Triple Crown races, and running the final leg in a time that still ranks the eighth fastest in the history of the Belmont Stakes.

7. American Pharoah (2015) - 2:26.65

Not only was American Pharoah the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed, but he would clinch that honor by becoming one of the fastest Belmont Stakes winners in history. Though a stalking trip tends to be the most successful going 1 ½ miles at Belmont Park, Victor Espinoza knew he had the best horse, and he decided to ride like it, taking the lead and daring the field to catch him. No one could. American Pharoah opened up when asked, hitting the finish line 5 ½ lengths clear of Frosted and reminding the horse racing world that the Triple Crown was still possible.

6. Gallant Man (1957) - 2:26.6

Gallant Man’s loss in the 1957 Kentucky Derby was perhaps the most infamous loss in horse racing history: Willie Shoemaker misjudged the finish, and Gallant Man missed by a nose to Iron Liege. Instead of going to the Preakness, Gallant Man would win the Peter Pan and then rejoin the Triple Crown trail in the Belmont Stakes.

That day, judgment of the finish line would hardly matter. Favored Bold Ruler set the early pace, but Gallant Man made a lively run around the far turn, overhauling him near the quarter-mile mark, and then launching clear in the lane to win by eight lengths over long shot Inside Tract.

5. Point Given (2001) - 2:26.56

Though he was upset in the 2001 Kentucky Derby, the second-fastest in history behind Secretariat’s in 1973, Point Given righted course in the Preakness and then turned in an exquisite effort in the Belmont Stakes.

Point Given came away much better and found a spot tracking outside just off the pace. He encroached approaching the far turn, bid in earnest three wide around that bend, and overhauled pacesetter Balto Star with half a mile still to go. Point Given drove further and further clear down the lane, winning by 12 ¼ lengths over A P Valentine in a time that still ranks as the fifth fastest in Belmont history.

4. Risen Star (1988) - 2:26.4

Though an unlucky trip at Churchill Downs ended any dreams of Risen Star becoming a Triple Crown winner, Secretariat’s greatest son ran to his promise in the Preakness and then did even better in the final race of the Triple Crown. Risen Star attended a fast pace set by the Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors—much closer than he was able to get against her from the treacherous rail post at Churchill Downs five weeks before. He encroached on Winning Colors into the far turn, carried a clear lead into the lane, and no other horse could get close. He added to his margin with every stride down the stretch, finishing 14 ¾ lengths clear of long shot Kingpost.

3. A.P. Indy (1992) - 2:26.13

Being by Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew out of Secretariat’s most important daughter, Weekend Surprise, A.P. Indy was bred to be great. A foot bruise and a quarter crack kept him out of the Kentucky Derby, where he would have been one of the favorites after his victory over Bertrando in the Santa Anita Derby (G1). Trainer Neil Drysdale sent him to New York, where he won the Peter Pan (G2) by 5 ½ lengths a week after the Preakness. He looked good enough to run back in the Belmont Stakes.

He dazzled in that third jewel of the Triple Crown races. He saved ground behind a sharp early pace, let Preakness winner Pine Bluff make the first move down the backstretch. Urged for a run around the far turn, he gained ground on the leading echelon with a four-wide run. Into the lane, it was a battle between A. P. Indy and the Preakness winner; past the sixteenth pole, A.P. Indy had more. British shipper My Memoirs made one last run, but it was too late: A.P. Indy held to the wire, clocking the third fastest 1 ½-mile time in Belmont Stakes history.

2. Easy Goer (1989) - 2:26.0

The 1989 Triple Crown series was an east-versus-west battle, New York’s favorite son Easy Goer versus the California standard-bearer Sunday Silence. Sunday Silence carried the day in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, but back in his home state for the Belmont Stakes, Easy Goer had his chance to thwart his rival’s Triple Crown bid.

Easy Goer’s sire, Alydar, missed by a heartbreaking head in the 1978 edition of the Belmont, but no such thing would happen to his greatest son. Tracking just behind Sunday Silence, Easy Goer let Sunday Silence make the first move on the pacesetter Le Voyageur, but kicked in sharply near the five-sixteenths. By the quarter, Easy Goer was clear. Sunday Silence tried to follow, but a Triple Crown win was out of reach. The best he could do was save the place over the pacesetter. Easy Goer rolled eight lengths clear, earning a Classic victory and the second-fastest 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes time in history.

1. Secretariat (1973) - 2:24.0

It was the fastest 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes ever. It was the fastest 1 ½-mile dirt race ever, and still is. The 1973 Belmont Stakes was the defining moment of the Triple Crown, not just that year’s edition but the entire history of the series. In the words of Chic Anderson, Secretariat was “moving like a tremendous machine.”

Horses shouldn’t be able to do what Secretariat did in 1973 … after a demanding Triple Crown season, be able to get 1 ½ miles in 2:24 flat. His first quarter of 23.6 was the fastest in Belmont Stakes history until being surpassed in 1991 by Another Review, a horse who got tired and was eased. Secretariat, though, didn’t know the word “tired” that day. His half mile in 46.2, his three quarters in 1:09.8, his mile in 1:34.8, and his 1 ¼ miles in 1:59.0 are all the fastest such fractions in the history of the Belmont Stakes. Secretariat won 31 lengths clear of Twice a Prince, and there is a well-deserved pole marking that distance from the Belmont wire to honor his effort.

Secretariat’s Belmont record of 2:24 flat for 1 ½ miles on the dirt shattered the previous world record by over two seconds. He holds the speed record in all three races of the Triple Crown series, and remains the ideal to which the horse racing world dreams a Thoroughbred can rise.

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