Tag: Triple Crown

For Long Island, the Belmont Stakes is more than just a thoroughbred horse race. It’s a reminder of the rich and vibrant sporting culture in these parts that dates back centuries.

The June 9 Belmont Stakes will be Chef Drew Revella’s fifteenth at Centerplate Inc., which coordinates the racetrack’s restaurants and catering. But this year he is racing to prepare for a bigger crowd than usual.

Every summer since 1904, crowds have stampeded to Belmont Park in Elmont to see the Belmont Stakes—the weekend-long horse racing festival that aficionados dubbed the “test of the champion.” The championship track—1.5 miles of brown dirt, contrasting starkly with the some of the greenest infield grass around—is the final leg in the quest for horse racing’s Triple Crown, one of the most elusive feats to capture in sports, which makes the Belmont Stakes so special. The goal? To win all the three major horse racing competitions in succession. It’s happened just 12 times since 1919—most recently last June, when American Pharaoh become the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. But this time, there is no chance of a horse winning the Triple Crown.

American Pharoah has a chance to be the first horse since 1978 to win the Triple Crown if it crosses the finish line first Saturday evening at Belmont Park.

“This is really a great, spectacular sporting event where the world’s eyes are on Nassau County."