2004 Belmont Stakes
| Belmont Stakes | |
| Location |
Belmont Park Elmont, New York, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Date | June 11, 2005 |
| Winning horse | Birdstone |
| Jockey | Edgar Prado |
| Trainer | Nick Zito |
| Owner | Marylou Whitney Stables |
| Conditions | Fast |
| Surface | Dirt |
|
← 2003
2005 →
|
|
The 2004 Belmont Stakes was the 136th running of the Belmont Stakes. The 1 1⁄2-mile (2,400 m) race, known as the "test of the champion" and sometimes called the "final jewel" in thoroughbred horse racing's Triple Crown series, was held on June 5, 2004, three weeks after the Preakness Stakes and five weeks after the Kentucky Derby.
For the third year in a row, a horse won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, only to lose the Belmont Stakes, lengthening the Triple Crown drought to 26 years. In 2004 before a record crowd, Smarty Jones was thought to have an excellent chance of completing the series as he was unbeaten and dominant in his earlier races. However, he failed to relax during the early part of the race when pressured by horses who eventually finished well back. Smarty Jones hit the lead with over half a mile to go but did not have enough energy left to withstand a late charge by Birdstone, who won at odds of 36-1.
Undefeated in the lead-up to the Triple Crown series, Smarty Jones won the Kentucky Derby by 2 3⁄4 lengths, and then won the Preakness Stakes by 11 1⁄2 lengths. As a result, he became the heaviest favorite for the Belmont Stakes since Spectacular Bid and Secretariat in the 1970s. When he returned to his home base at Philadelphia Park after winning the Preakness, some 10,000 fans turned out just to see him gallop in the morning. When he traveled to Belmont Park a week before the race, he was accompanied through Pennsylvania by two motorcycle police officers, while other police cars blocked key intersections and three helicopters circled overhead. The cavalcade drove past a billboard on the Pennsylvania turnpike that read, "Look out New York, Smarty's Coming!" His owners received thousands of letters of encouragement and Smarty Jones merchandise was in high demand. "Smarty Fever" led to the largest attendance at Belmont Park in its history: 120,139.
...
Wikipedia