The 141st running of the Belmont Stakes is on Saturday, June 6, 2009. Post time is 5:27 p.m. CST. At 1 1/2 miles, the longest in the Triple Crown races, this race is know as the “Test of the Champion.” These contenders are striving for the blanket of white carnations. I am pulling for Mine That Bird who I believe can breeze past everyone in this lengthy race.
This year Mine That Bird ran away with Derby and Rachel Alexandra took the Preakness. As for a Triple Crown winner, there’s always next year, but the following info from the Belmont Stakes website is a great summation of Triple Crown history:
Since 1919, when Sir Barton became the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, only 11 horses have won racing’s most prestigious prize, the Triple Crown. Affirmed, in 1978, was the last horse to achieve the remarkable feat of winning all three races, at three different distances, at three different tracks, in the space of five weeks. The current 31-year gap between Triple Crown winners is the longest drought in the series’ history; in 1973 Secretariat ended a 25-year hiatus dating back to Citation’s 1948 triumph. In all, 21 horses, including seven in the past 12 years, have come into the Belmont Stakes with victories in the Derby and Preakness winners, only to fall short in the 1 ½-mile “Test of the Champion.”
For these special races the Derby serves a Mint Julep, the Preakness serves a Black Eyed-Susan, and the Belmont serves the Belmont Breeze. This one is a bit complicated:
Belmont Breeze
1 1/2 ounces Bourbon
3/4 ounce Dry Sack
3/4 ounce Fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 ounce Simple Syrup
1 1/2 ounce Fresh Orange juice
1 1/2 ounce Ocean Spray Cranberry juice
Shake all ingredients with ice and top with half 7up and half soda, approximately one ounce of each. Garnish with fresh strawberry, a mint sprig and a lemon wedge.
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