Located in Elmont, New York, Belmont Park first opened its doors to the public on May 4, 1905 and was named after the formidable August Belmont, Sr. (former U.S. representative of the Rothschild’s banking house in Frankfurt, and founder of around 250 enterprises); however, it wasn’t explicitly used for horseracing. Aerial tournaments and exhibitions also took place there during the first decade of the 1900s, in light of the racing ban. In fact, it was during this period that the Wright Brothers picked Belmont Park as the venue for the last leg of their global aerial tournament.

Indeed, the park cum horseracing track had its shaky beginnings, having been formed during the same period as the passing of the Anti-Betting Legislation that led to its temporary closure, only to be reopened in 1913.

The park has seen various renovations throughout the years. In 1917, it was ravaged by fire, which devastated the clubhouse, the jockeys’ quarters, and the main grandstand. During that same period, another deadly fire consumed the stables, ending the lives of 28 prized thoroughbreds. It took 3 years to repair the damages from this incident.

46 years later, Belmont Park was once again set to be rebuilt due to some structural problems. It was deemed to be architecturally unsafe. This time, it took around 5 years to reconstruct. It reopened, finally, on May 20, 1968.

Despite all the improvements done on Belmont Park, it has managed to keep a few mementos of its original structure, such as the iron railings along the edges of the walking ring and the stone pillars on the Hempstead Turnpike that go as far back as 1792. To this day, Belmont Park continues to be one of the main thoroughbred horseracing tracks in New York.

As the venue for the final installment of the Triple Crown Series (the Belmont Stakes thoroughbred horseracing event), Belmont Park eventually became known as “The Championship Track”. It has seen the triumph of thoroughbred Secretariat, the leading American Triple Crown champion in a span of twenty-five years, whose victory is forever etched in U.S. thoroughbred racing history.

Because it represents the last part of the Triple Crown Series, Belmont Park has the longest, most tasking track of all the Triple Crown events. Nobody knows quite what to expect during these races. Those who seem to be lagging behind could eventually speed past the front liners in an epic move to win the race. Such is the excitement surrounding Belmont Park during the Belmont Stakes races.

Belmont Park has been labeled as one of the best designed venues in U.S. sports because of the lofty area behind the grandstand. Boasting of a wide area of 430 acres, it features an oval mile and a half main course, an audience capacity of 85,000 to 90,000, a seating capacity of 32,941, a parking capacity for 18,500 vehicles and a trackside dining of 2,300.

Combined with its rich heritage and its lavish surroundings, Belmont Park continues to be a favorite sports ground to this day.