RACING TO HISTORY
May 31, 1969: Racing returned to Pennsylvania when Liberty Bell racetrack
opened, near Philadelphia. The state had not had legal racing since 1802 and
became the 30th state to adopt parimutuel wagering.
June 1, 1881: Pierre Lorillard's Iroquois became the first American-owned
and -bred horse to win a European classic race when he won the Epsom Derby
under one of England's greatest riders, Fred Archer. Iroquois won seven of
nine starts as a three-year-old, including England's St. Leger Stakes.
June 1, 1946: Assault became the seventh horse to win the Triple Crown, with
a victory in the Belmont Stakes.
June 1, 1973: In his final tuneup for the Belmont Stakes and the Triple
Crown, Secretariat went six furlongs in 1:11 3/5, doing the first three
furlongs in :35 2/5 and five furlongs in :59.
June 1, 1978: In his first start ever on the turf, eventual four-time
champion grass horse John Henry won a $35,000, 1 1/16-mile claiming race by
14 lengths at Belmont Park. John Henry was voted champion turf horse for the
years 1980-81 and 1983-84.
June 1, 1999: Mr. Prospector, the most influential sire of his generation,
died in his stall at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky. He was 29.
June 2, 1943: Trainer Hirsch Jacobs claimed two-year-old Stymie for $1,500.
By the end of 1947, Stymie had become the world's leading money-winning
Thoroughbred, with earnings of $816,060 and 22 stakes victories.
June 2, 1947: After a six-year layoff, 13-year-old Honey Cloud won the
second race at Aqueduct. His jockey, Clarence Minner, had not ridden in 10
years.
June 3, 1943: To further the war effort, the Navy took over Tanforan
racetrack and used it as a training base.
June 4, 1870: Ed Brown became the first African-American jockey to win the
Belmont Stakes, with Kingfisher.
June 4, 1913: At odds of 100-1, Aboyeur became the first horse to win the
Epsom Derby by an on-course disqualification after Craganour, who won by a
head, was disqualified for bumping. During the race, a suffragette had
rushed onto the track and pulled down the King's horse, Anmer. The
suffragette, Emily Davison, died of a fractured skull.
June 4, 1941: Three days before his race in the Belmont Stakes, which would
complete his Triple Crown, Whirlaway worked 1 1/4 miles in 2:02 2/5.
June 5, 1884: James McLaughlin became the first jockey to ride three
consecutive Belmont Stakes winners, when he rode Panique to victory. He
previously won with George Kinney (1883) and Forester (1882). McLaughlin
repeated his feat in 1886-88, with each of his wins aboard horses owned by
the Dwyer brothers. McLaughlin's triple was matched by jockey Laffit Pincay
Jr. in 1984.
June 5, 1901: William C. Whitney's Volodyovski won the Epsom Derby, making
him the second American owner (after Pierre Lorillard in 1881) to have won
the race. Whitney leased the English-bred horse for the express purpose of
winning at Epsom. Whitney's trainer, John Huggins, was the first American to
train an Epsom Derby winner.
June 5, 1937: War Admiral became the fourth winner of the Triple Crown, with
a win in the Belmont Stakes.
June 5, 1943: Count Fleet ended his racing career by winning the Belmont
Stakes by 25 lengths. He was the sixth American Triple Crown winner. Count
Fleet was such a heavy favorite for the race, going off at odds of 1-20,
that no place or show wagering was allowed.
June 5, 1969: Jockey Mary Bacon won her first race, at Finger Lakes. Among
apprentices, she finished 23rd in the races-won category that year, with 55
victories in 396 starts and purses of $91,642. Bacon was the first female
to join the list of leading apprentices.
June 5, 1985: Steve Cauthen won the Epsom Derby aboard Slip Anchor and
became the only American jockey to win both the English and Kentucky
Derbies. Cauthen had previously ridden Affirmed to victory in the 1978
Kentucky Derby.
June 5, 1993: Julie Krone became the first female rider to win a Triple
Crown race when she won the Belmont Stakes with Colonial Affair.
June 5, 1999: Charismatic lost his bid to become the 12th Triple Crown
winner when he fractured his left front cannon bone and sesamoid while
finishing third to Lemon Drop Kid in the Belmont Stakes.
June 6, 1919: Man o' War won his first race ever, a five-furlong contest
over a straightaway at Belmont Park. He won by six lengths, running the
distance in 59 seconds, and went off at odds of 3-5. In each of his 20
subsequent races, Man o' War was the odds-on favorite.
June 6, 1972: In preparation for his colt's July 4 racing debut, trainer
Lucien Laurin put blinkers on two-year-old Secretariat for the first time.
Secretariat responded by working a half-mile at Belmont Park in :47 3/5, the
fastest time he had ever worked up to that date.
June 6, 1987: Bet Twice became the first horse to receive a Triple Crown
bonus after winning the Belmont Stakes over rival Alysheba. He earned $1
million in addition to the first-place money.
June 6, 1992: Jockey Carl Gambardella won his 6,000th career victory, aboard
Nip of Gin, at Rockingham Park.
June 6, 1998: Real Quiet was denied the Triple Crown when Victory Gallop
edged him at the wire in the Belmont Stakes before an audience of 80,162.
The crowd was the second-largest in the track's history and just shy of the
mark set in 1971 when Canonero II failed in his Triple Crown bid before
82,694 spectators. Total handle on the Belmont Day card was a record of
$55,613,482.
June 7, 1930: Gallant Fox became the second winner of the Triple Crown after
he won the Belmont Stakes under Earl Sande. Gallant Fox subsequently sired
another Triple Crown winner, Omaha.
June 7, 1941: Whirlaway won the 73rd running of the Belmont Stakes and
became the fifth horse to win the Triple Crown.
June 7, 1947: Owner William Helis had three stakes wins in three different
states. Rippey won the Carter Handicap at New York's Aqueduct; Jobstown won
the Absecon Handicap at New Jersey's Atlantic City and Elpis won the New
Castle Handicap at Delaware Park.
June 7, 1980: Genuine Risk became the first filly to compete in all three
Triple Crown races. She won the Kentucky Derby and finished second in both
the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
June 7, 1986: Trainer Woody Stephens saddled Danzig Connection to win his
fifth consecutive Belmont Stakes. Stephens won the previous races with
Conquistador Cielo (1982), Caveat (1983), Swale (1984) and Creme Fraiche
(1985).
June 7, 1997: In his bid to become the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown,
Silver Charm was outdueled during the stretch run of the Belmont Stakes by
Touch Gold. Silver Charm held on for second and became the 13th horse to
have lost the Triple Crown after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness
Stakes. On-track attendance at Belmont was 70,682--third-highest in the
track's history.
June 8, 1935: Omaha, son of Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox, became the
third winner of the Triple Crown with a win in the Belmont Stakes.
June 8, 1985: Brushwood Stable's Creme Fraiche became the first gelding to
win the Belmont Stakes.
June 8, 1991: Julie Krone became the first female rider to compete in the
Belmont Stakes. Her mount, Subordinated Debt, finished ninth as the
third-longest shot in the field. Also on that date, Mane Minister became the
only horse to finish third in all three Triple Crown events.
June 9, 1888: James McLaughlin set the record for most number of wins by a
jockey in the Belmont Stakes, six, when he rode Sir Dixon to a 12-length
victory. McLaughlin's record was matched by Eddie Arcaro in 1955.
June 9, 1887: Only two horses competed in the Belmont Stakes. It was the
smallest field in the race's history, which again had only two starters in
1888, 1892, 1910, and 1920, the year Man o' War won the Belmont by 20
lengths.
June 9, 1945: Hoop Jr. won the Kentucky Derby, which was run one month after
a national wartime government ban on racing was lifted.
June 9, 1973: Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths-the longest
winning margin in the race's history-while setting a track record of 2:24,
which has not been surpassed. The time was 2 3/5 seconds faster than the
mark set by Gallant Man in 1957. Secretariat's victory made him the ninth
Triple Crown winner and first since Citation had swept the Derby, Preakness
and Belmont in 1948.
June 9, 1979: Spectacular Bid lost his chance for the Triple Crown in the
Belmont Stakes, finishing third to winner Coastal. Trainer Bud Delp alleged
that the colt had sustained a foot injury after stepping on a safety pin the
morning of the race.
June 9, 1984: Riding Swale in a wire-to-wire victory, Laffit Pincay Jr. won
his third consecutive Belmont Stakes, becoming the only rider in this
century to accomplish that feat. Pincay rode Caveat to victory in 1983 and
Conquistador Cielo in 1982; all three of his mounts were trained by Woody
Stephens. Jockey James McLaughlin also rode three consecutive Belmont
winners, once from 1882-84, and again from 1886-88. Swale's Belmont was also
the first in which a female trainer saddled a horse for the race. Sarah
Lundy sent Minstrel Star to a last-place finish.
June 10, 1890: The Preakness Stakes was run outside Baltimore, at Morris
Park in New York, under the auspices of the New York Jockey Club. Suspended
for three years, the race was next run at the Brooklyn Jockey Club's
Gravesend Course, 1894-1908.
June 10, 1938: Hollywood Park opened in Inglewood, Calif. In its inaugural
year, Hollywood Park attracted such racing stars as Lawrin, who had given
jockey Eddie Arcaro his first Kentucky Derby victory, as well as Ligaroti
and Seabiscuit, whose rivalry later reached its pitch in a match race
contested at Del Mar on Aug. 12, 1938.
June 10, 1944: The only triple dead heat for first in a stakes race occurred
at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Carter Handicap. The three winners were
Brownie, Bossuet and Wait a Bit.
June 10, 1953: Trainer Charlie Whittingham, at age 40, saddled his first
stakes winner when Porterhouse, ridden by Bill Boland, won the National
Stallion Stakes at Belmont Park. Porterhouse was later named champion
two-year-old of 1953.
June 10, 1972: Laffit Pincay Jr. won his 2,000th victory while riding at
Hollywood Park.
June 10, 1978: Steve Cauthen, at age 18, became the youngest jockey ever to
win the Triple Crown when his mount, Affirmed, won the Belmont Stakes. Also
on that day, Alydar became the only horse to finish second in all three
Triple Crown races. Affirmed was the 11th winner of the Triple Crown.
June 10, 2000: The 132nd Belmont Stakes drew a crowd of 67,810, making it
the fourth largest in the racetrack's history and the largest Belmont Stakes
crowd ever when a Triple Crown was not at stake. The race was won by
longshot Commendable, giving trainer D. Wayne Lukas his record 13th win in a
Triple Crown race.
June 11, 1898: Willie Simms became the only African American jockey to win
the Preakness Stakes when he rode Sly Fox to victory. With this win, Simms
became the only African American jockey to have won all three Triple Crown
races. His other Triple Crown wins took place in the Kentucky Derby (1896,
1898) and Belmont Stakes (1893, 1894).
June 11, 1919: The first Triple Crown was won by Sir Barton after he
completed the Belmont Stakes, then run at 1 3/8 miles rather than the
traditional 1 1/2 miles. Prior to his Triple Crown sweep, Sir Barton had
been winless in six tries at racing.
June 11, 1921: Grey Lag, under Earl Sande, won the first Belmont Stakes ever
to be run counter-clockwise. Previous Belmonts had been run clockwise over a
fish-hook course that included part of the training track and the main dirt
oval.
June 11, 1955: Jockey Eddie Arcaro tied James McLaughlin's record of six
Belmont Stakes wins when he rode Nashua to victory.
June 11, 1966: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. recorded his first American stakes
victory, taking the Christiana Stakes aboard two-year-old Hermogenes at
Delaware Park.
June 11, 1973: Triple Crown winner Secretariat simultaneously made the
covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated.
June 11, 1977: Upon winning the Belmont Stakes, Seattle Slew became the
tenth Triple Crown winner and the first Triple Crown winner to remain
undefeated, with a career record of nine-for-nine.
June 12, 1920: Man o' War won the Belmont Stakes, which was then run at a
distance of 1 3/8-miles, in 2:14 1/5. He shattered the existing world record
by 3 1/5 seconds and also set the American dirt-course record for that
distance.
June 12, 1926: The August Belmont family first presented their permanent
commemorative Tiffany trophy to the winner of the Belmont Stakes. The silver
trophy was created in 1869 in recognition of Fenian's win in the Belmont.
June 12, 1948: After riding Citation to victory in the Belmont, jockey Eddie
Arcaro became the only rider in history to have won two Triple Crowns. His
previous Triple Crown was with Whirlaway, in 1941. In wining the Belmont,
Citation became the eighth Triple Crown winner.
June 12, 1960: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. rode his first race at El Comandante
in Puerto Rico.
June 12, 1982: Jockey Mike Smith rode his first winner, Future Man, in a
$2,000 claiming race at Santa Fe.
June 13, 1874: English-bred Saxon became the first foreign-bred horse to win
the Belmont Stakes.
June 12, 1998: The Louisiana State Racing commission re-instated jockey
Sylvester Carmouche, who had served more than eight years of a ten-year
suspension. Carmouche was suspended in April 1990 for not riding the proper
course in a race run under heavy fog in January 1990 at Delta Downs. He
later admitted that he had pulled his horse up after the start of the race,
waited on the far turn, then rode to the wire after hearing the other horses
approaching.
June 13, 1913: James Rowe, who had won back-to-back Belmonts in 1872-3 as a
jockey, set the record for most number of Belmont Stakes wins by a trainer,
eight, when he sent Prince Eugene to victory.
June 13, 1961: Ben A. Jones, who trained a record six Kentucky Derby
winners, died.
June 13, 1992: Angel Cordero Jr. won his first race in two tries as a
trainer, with Puchinito, in the fourth race at Belmont Park.
June 13, 1999: Silver Charm, winner of the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness
Stakes and the 1998 Dubai World Cup, retired after finishing fourth in the
Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs. Silver Charm retired with
earnings of $6,944,369 (third-highest of all time) and won 12 of 24 starts.
WEEKEND STAKES RACES (unrestricted stakes worth $75,000 and up)
SATURDAY, JUNE 2
Massachusetts Handicap, 3&up, $500,000, Grade II, 1 1/8 M, Suffolk Downs
Sheepshead Bay Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $150,000, Grade II, 1 3/8 M (T), Belmont Park
James B. Moseley Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3&up, $150,000, 6F, Suffolk Downs
Desert Stormer Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $100,000, Grade III, 6F, Hollywood Park
Louisville Handicap, 3&up, $100,000, 1 3/8 M (T), Churchill Downs
Canterbury Park Breeders' Cup Derby, 3yo, $100,000, 1M (T), Canterbury Park
Legal Light Stakes, 3yo, $75,000, 6F, Delaware Park
SUNDAY, JUNE 3
Milady Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $250,000, Grade I, 1 1/16 M, Hollywood Park
Nassau Stakes, 3&up (f&m), $175,000, Grade III, 1 1/16 M (T), Woodbine
MONDAY, JUNE 4
Rosenna Stakes, 3&up (f&m), $75,000, 1 1/16 M (T), Delaware Park
THURSDAY, JUNE 7
Fashion Stakes, 2yo fillies, $75,000, 5F, Belmont Park
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