Belmont Park Race Track has the largest dirt racecourse of any Thoroughbred track in the world, as well as the largest grandstand. It is world-famous as the home of the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown. The dirt racecourse is one-and-one-half-miles long.
Both the Belmont Park and Belmont Stakes were named after financier and sportsman August Belmont, Sr The race was first run in 1867; it has been run at Belmont Park since 1905, with the exception of the 1963-67 editions held at Aqueduct during the Belmont Park renovation. The first post parade in the United States was at the 14th Belmont, in 1880.
Secretariat's 1973 Belmont victory set a record not only for the race, but for the mile and a half on dirt, that still stands.
In addition to the Belmont Stakes, other major races held at Belmont include the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Woodward Stakes, the Suburban Handicap and the Memorial Day standby -- the Metropolitan Handicap, also known as the "Met Mile."
With some of the elegant aura of its sister track, Saratoga Race Course, in a suburban setting, Belmont is known as one of the most gorgeous and accommodating racecourses in the world. The racecourse was closed for renovations from 1963 until May 1968, when the present grandstand was opened.
The racing facility is located in the Elmont hamlet of Nassau County, New York, just outside the New York City limits. A neighboring Long Island Rail Road station and a small portion of the parking field are inside the city line.