The Mane Event

Belmont Stakes saw second-largest day for on-track wagers

A total of 85,811 fans trekked to Belmont Park for the third leg of the Triple Crown, “the sixth largest crowd ever to attend a day at the races there,” according to Steve Myrick of the THOROUGHBRED TIMES. That figure marked the "largest crowd ever to attend the Belmont Stakes when, as it turned out, there was no Triple Crown on the line.” NYRA said that it “expected more than 100,000 fans," but that was before the unexpected withdrawal of I'll Have Another. Track officials reported $13.8M in wagers on-track, "second only" to the $14.5M bet in '04, when 120,139 attended the event to see Smarty Jones fall short of the Triple Crown. NYRA said total handle from all sources for the 13-race card was $96.5M, the "third lar ...