1978 Belmont Stakes

The 1978 Belmont Stakes was the 110th running of the Belmont Stakes. It occurred on June 10, 1978, and was televised on CBS. Affirmed completed the 11th Triple Crown after his victories in the 1978 Kentucky Derby and the 1978 Preakness Stakes. As in the prior two legs of the Triple Crown, he narrowly defeated Alydar.^[2]

110th Belmont Stakes

Belmont Stakes
Location	Belmont Park, Elmont, New York, United States
Date	June 10, 1978
Winning horse	Affirmed
Winning time	2:26 4/5
Jockey	Steve Cauthen
Conditions	Fast[1]
Surface	Dirt
← 1977 1979 →

Affirmed and Alydar ran head to head for the last half mile of the mile and a half race, with Affirmed ultimately winning by a head.^[3] Affirmed's winning time of 2:26 4/5 was the 3rd best in history at the time, behind only Secretariat's all-time record of 2:24 in 1973 and Gallant Man's time of 2:26 3/5 in 1957.^[3] This was despite a slow early pace.^[3]

Payout

The 110th Belmont Payout Schedule^[1]

Program Number	Horse Name	Win	Place	Show*
3	Affirmed	$3.20	$2.10	–
2	Alydar		$2.20	–
1	Darby Creek Road			–

* – No show wagering.

Full chart

Finish	Lengths behind	Post position	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Post time odds	Stakes
1		3	Affirmed	Steve Cauthen	Laz Barrera[1]	Harbor View Farm	0.60	$110,580[1]
2	Head[2]	2	Alydar	Jorge Velásquez[1]	John M. Veitch[1]	Calumet Farm	1.10	$40,546[1]
3	13	1	Darby Creek Road	Ángel Cordero Jr.[1]	Lou Rondinello[1]	James W. Phillips	9.90	$22,116[1]
4	7 3/4	4	Judge Advocate	Jeffrey Fell[1]	John W. Russell[1]	Ogden Phipps	30.10	$11,058[1]
5	1 1/2	5	Noon Time Spender	Ruben Hernandez[1]	Antonio Arcodia[1]	Miami Lakes Ranch	38.40	--

Race Information:

• Winning Breeder: Harbor View Farm^[1]
• Final Time: 2:26.80^[1]
• Attendance:

References

1. "110th Running-1978-Affirmed" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
2. "Affirmed: The Greatest Rivalry".
3. Cady, S. (June 10, 1978). "Losing Isn't Everything". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-05-17.