# The 10 Greatest Belmont Stakes Performances of All Time

> A mile and a half decides who was really the best of a generation. Some of these winners strolled home by daylight; others were caught in the final stride.

*By YPB Team · Published August 20, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-10-greatest-belmont-stakes-performances-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Secretariat (1973)** — score 1000/1000
   Won by 31 lengths in 2:24, a margin and a time no horse has approached in the half-century since.
2. **Justify (2018)** — score 590/1000
   Completed an undefeated Triple Crown on a sloppy track, leading every step of the way.
3. **Arrogate (2016)** — score 590/1000
   Set the Belmont Park track record for a mile and an eighth in the Travers, then won the Classic.
4. **Count Fleet (1943)** — score 389/1000
   Completed the Triple Crown with a 25-length victory, the second-largest winning margin in the race.
5. **Affirmed (1978)** — score 388/1000
   Held off Alydar by a head after the pair ran together the length of the stretch.
6. **Risen Star (1988)** — score 388/1000
   Secretariat's son won by nearly 15 lengths in 2:26 2/5, closer to his father than anyone else has come.
7. **Citation (1948)** — score 388/1000
   Took the Belmont by eight lengths to complete racing's fourth Triple Crown in nine years.
8. **Man o' War (1920)** — score 388/1000
   Won by 20 lengths and set a world record for the distance, carrying 126 pounds.
9. **Easy Goer (1989)** — score 388/1000
   Ran the second-fastest Belmont ever at 2:26 to deny Sunday Silence the Triple Crown.
10. **Ruffian (1975)** — score 250/1000
   Never raced the Belmont but set track records at Belmont Park in every start there as a filly.

Tags: sports, horse racing, horses, belmont stakes