Belmont Stakes Will Be Held in June With No Fans

The Stakes will be shortened from its normal length of 1½ miles to 1⅛ miles

Billionaire's Guide to Horse Racing
The field loads into the starting gate for 148th running of the Belmont Stakes. (Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty)

This year in horse racing’s Triple Crown, the last shall be first. Normally the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes will now be run ahead of the Preakness and Kentucky Derby.

Set for June 20 —  only two weeks after it was originally scheduled to be run — the Belmont Stakes will take place on the outskirts of New York City with no fans in attendance.

Usually the longer leg of the Triple Crown, the Stakes will be run at a distance of 1 1/8 miles instead of the traditional “test of the champion” 1 1/2-mile length.

Though the last time Triple Crown races were run out of their traditional order (Derby, Preakness, Stakes) was 1931, Belmont’s race was last run at 1 1/8 miles in 1894.

“The Belmont Stakes is a New York institution that will provide world-class entertainment for sports fans during these challenging times,” NYRA president Dave O’Rourke said in a statement. “While this will certainly be a unique running of this historic race, we are grateful to be able to hold the Belmont Stakes in 2020. … Fans across the country can look forward to a day of exceptional thoroughbred racing at a time when entertainment and sports are so important to providing a sense of normalcy.”

Following Belmont being run in June, the Kentucky Derby will be run on September 5 and the Preakness will be run on October 3.

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