<P> With one exception, the race has been run at a level weight of 126 pounds (with a 5 - pound allowance for fillies) since 1900 . The 126 pounds comes from the English Classics, where the standard weight is 9 stone, with one stone equaling 14 pounds . In 1913, the Belmont was run as a handicap with the winner carrying only 109 pounds compared to the runner - up carrying 126 pounds . Races run prior to 1900 had varied weight conditions . </P> <P> The first post parade in the United States was at the 14th Belmont, in 1880 . Before 1921, the race was run in the clockwise tradition of English racing . Since then, the race has been run in the American, or counter-clockwise, direction . Because of its length (one lap around the enormous Belmont main track), and because it is the final race of the Triple Crown, it is called the "Test of the Champion". Most three - year - olds are unaccustomed to the distance, and lack the experience, if not the stamina, to maintain a winning speed for so long . In a long race such as the Belmont, positioning of the horse and the timing of the move to chase for the lead can be critical . </P> <P> The Belmont Stakes is traditionally called "The Test of the Champion" because of its 1.5 mile length--by far the longest of the three Triple Crown races, and one of the longest for a first - class race in the United States on the dirt . It is also known as "The Run for the Carnations" because the winning horse is draped with a blanket of white carnations after the race, in similar fashion to the blanket of roses and black - eyed Susans for the Derby and Preakness, respectively . The winning owner is ceremonially presented with the silver winner's trophy, designed by Paulding Farnham for Tiffany and Co . It was first presented to August Belmont, Jr. in 1896 and donated by the Belmont family for annual presentation in 1926 . </P> <P> Despite the fact that the Belmont Stakes is the oldest of the Triple Crown races, its traditions have been more subject to change . Until 1996, the post parade song was "The Sidewalks of New York". From 1997 to 2009, the song was changed to broadcast a recording by Frank Sinatra of the "Theme from New York, New York" in an attempt to appeal to younger fans . In 2010, the song was changed to Jay - Z's "Empire State of Mind" before reverting to "Theme from New York, New York" from 2011 through the present . This tradition is similar to the singing of the state song at the post parades of the first two Triple Crown races: "My Old Kentucky Home" at the Kentucky Derby and "Maryland, My Maryland" at the Preakness Stakes . The change of song gave rise to "the myth of Mamie O'Rourke," a reference to a character in the lyrics of "The Sidewalks of New York ." Before American Pharoah won the Triple Crown in 2015, some claimed that changing the official Belmont song "cursed" the Triple Crown and was why no horse had won since Affirmed in 1978 . Others note that there was no Triple Crown winner between 1979 and 1996, even though "Sidewalks" was still played . </P>

What is the official flower of the belmont stakes