The Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, is the longest and most challenging of the three races that make up the crown. The “run for the carnations” is held in June every year at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, and the three-year-old horses, with colts and geldings carrying a weight of 126 pounds and fillies carrying 121 pounds, run a mile and a half in what is often called “The Test of Champions.” Throughout history, many horses have won the first two Triple Crown races, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, only to fizzle out in the tougher Belmont Stakes.
The most famous Belmont Stakes race was no doubt the stunning 1973 run by Secretariat who win the Triple Crown by 31 lengths; setting a track record that holds to this day. However, the very first Belmont Stakes was actually won by a filly.
The year was 1867 and it was the inaugural running of the race itself. A filly named Ruthless, trained by A. Jack Minor and bred by Francis Morris, had already beaten the colts many times as a two-year-old and later at the start of her three-year-old season. Often the races she won over the boys were major races and she even beat older males at the length of a mile and a quarter.
During this time, the Belmont Stakes, or what would become it, was held at Jerome Park and the distance was 1 5/8 miles, an eighth of a mile longer than the current length. Ruthless was running against one of her own stablemates named Monday. It was expected Ruthless would lose to Monday, but she went for it and engaged in a three-way battle with De Courcey and Rivoli as the finish line approached. She battled with everything she had and crossed the finish line by a head over De Courcey. As an added note of interest, her jockey was Gilbert W. Patrick who was 55-years-old at the time!
Since then, only two other fillies have gone on to win the Belmont Stakes: Tanya in 1905 and the Todd Pletcher-trained Rags to Riches in 2007 who outran the favorite Curlin by five-and-a-half lengths. Curlin-sired Nest, the one filly that ran in the 2022 Belmont Stakes, took second place to her stable mate, Mo Donegal.
After her Belmont victory in 1867, Ruthless went on to beat the boys again in the summer when she won the historical Travers Stakes at New York’s Saratoga track. Again beating De Courcey to win by two lengths.
After that, she won more races to retire with a record of seven wins out of eleven starts, and earnings of $11,000, which equates to over $213,000 today. She died in the most bizarre way when a hunter accidentally shot her while going past the Morris Farm in Westchester, New York where she was enjoying her retirement. She was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1975 and would go down in history as the first winner of any Triple Crown race, She even had a race named after her, The Ruthless Stakes, which is run yearly at Aqueduct.
The fact she was a filly adds to the impact of this one “ruthless runner” who loved to compete. In a race that was tough even for the best males, she not only went the distance, but she won.
This is really interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your fantastic post. Also, I have shared your website in my social networks!