Big Belmont track, tricks, horses, jockeys

At 1 1/2 miles, Belmont Park, site of Saturday's Belmont Stakes, is different from most race tracks in the country. Jockeys new to the track frequently get confused about the marker poles and how far they have left in a race. That's according to David Grening in the story linked below.

Of course, Jockey Ron Turcotte had no trouble with the track at the Belmont Stakes in 1973. But that's because he was riding a horse named Secretariat, and they won by 31 lengths, breaking the track record by more than two seconds and, perhaps most amazingly, running each quarter mile faster than the previous one during a mile and a half race. This phot shows them nearing the finish line.

ESPN.com story on Belmont Park