2005 Belmont Stakes
| Belmont Stakes | |
| Location |
Belmont Park Elmont, New York, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Date | June 11, 2005 |
| Winning horse | Afleet Alex |
| Jockey | Jeremy Rose |
| Trainer | Timothy Ritchey |
| Owner | Cash is King LLC |
| Conditions | Fast |
| Surface | Dirt |
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← 2004
2006 →
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The 2005 Belmont Stakes was the 137th 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 11, 2005, three weeks after the Preakness Stakes and five weeks after the Kentucky Derby.
In 2005, the Kentucky Derby was won by long-shot Giacomo while the Preakness Stakes was won by Afleet Alex. Therefore, there was no Triple Crown at stake, which caused a sharp decline in attendance from the year before when Smarty Jones was attempting to sweep the three races. The race proved fairly uneventful, with favorite Afleet Alex winning by seven lengths and stamping himself as the top three-year-old in the nation. Longshots finished in the next three places, resulting in high payouts for the trifecta and superfecta.
Giacomo won the 2005 Kentucky Derby in a major upset at odds of 50-1. Afleet Alex, who had finished third in the Derby, rebounded to win the Preakness Stakes despite nearly falling when another horse swerved into his path at the head of the stretch. Afleet Alex was favored to win the Belmont, with morning line odds set at 6-5 while Giacomo was the second choice at 4-1. The third choice at 6-1 was Reverberate, who had finished second in his previous start in the Peter Pan Stakes. The other horses in the field were all at double digit odds. Trainer Nick Zito entered three horses in the Belmont, having already entered five in the Derby and three in the Preakness without finishing in the money. Andromeda's Hero was considered to have the best chance, having finished eighth in the Derby and with an excellent pedigree for the taxing distance.
Afleet Alex arrived at Belmont Park on June 4. His trainer Tim Ritchey focused on long exercise sessions to build up the colt's stamina, including two gallops on the Wednesday before the race when the colt galloped a total of 4 1⁄2 miles. Meanwhile, various racetracks across the country agreed to set up Alex's Lemonade Stands on Belmont day to raise money for pediatric cancer research. The charity was set up by a young girl, Alex Scott, and had come to the attention of Afleet Alex's owners. By the end of 2005, over $4 million had been raised. By 2015, the fundraising has surpassed $100 million, and the publicity associated with Afleet Alex's Triple Crown run was a major factor in the continued success.
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