<P> The Belmont Stakes race was held at Aqueduct Racetrack from 1963 to 1967, while the track at Belmont was restored and renovated . </P> <P> The largest crowd of the 20th century was in 1971 with over 80,000 people, supplemented by the city's Latino community, there to cheer on their new hero, Cañonero II, the Venezuelan colt who had won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and was poised to win the U.S. Triple Crown . However, due to a foot infection that had bothered the horse for several days, Cañonero II failed to win the Triple Crown when he struggled across the finish line in 4th place behind Pass Catcher, ridden by Walter Blum . Despite this loss, Cañonero II was named the winner of the first Eclipse Award for Outstanding Three - Year - Old Male Horse . </P> <P> On June 9, 1973, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by thirty - one lengths in a record time of 2: 24, becoming a Triple Crown champion, ending a 25 - year gap between Citation, the Belmont and Triple Crown winner in 1948 . Secretariat's record still stands as the fastest running of the Belmont Stakes and an American record for 11⁄2 miles on the dirt . In 1977, Seattle Slew became the first horse to win the Triple Crown while undefeated . Affirmed was the last winner of the Triple Crown in the 20th century, taking the Belmont Stakes in 2: 26 4 / 5 on June 10, 1978 . Ridden by eighteen - year - old Steve Cauthen, Affirmed defeated rival Alydar with Jorge Velasquez in the saddle . At the time the race was the third - slowest start and the third - fastest finish with the quarter in 25, the half in 50, 3 / 4 in 1: 14, the mile in 1: 37 2 / 5 . </P> <P> In 1988, Secretariat's son Risen Star won the Belmont in 2: 26 2 / 5, then the second - fastest time in the history of the race . The next year, Easy Goer lowered the mark for second - fastest time to 2: 26 . Easy Goer also holds a Beyer Speed Figure of 122 for the race, the best of any Triple Crown race since these ratings were first published in 1987 . </P>

What is the fastest time at the belmont stakes