Triple Crown

Belmont Stakes 2016: Date, time, location and more

May 22, 2016, 12:31 AM UTC

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

With the win by Exaggerator in the Preakness Stakes, the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes will not feature a run at the Triple Crown, for the first time in three years. But should Nyquist compete in New York, the Belmont Stakes could feature a clash of champions and a rubber match of sorts between the two thoroughbreds.

The 2016 Belmont Stakes will take place on June 11, three weeks after the Preakness Stakes and five weeks after the Kentucky Derby. The $1.5 million purse includes $800,000 to the winner.

The race has been run since 1867 and takes place at Belmont Park in New York. At 1½ miles, it is the longest of the three Triple Crown races. Secretariat still holds the record for fastest time at the Belmont, completing its Triple Crown run in 1973 with a winning time of 2:24.

American Pharoah captured the Belmont Stakes in 2015, completing the sport’s first Triple Crown in 37 years. California Chrome in 2014 and I’ll Have Another in 2012 also won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, but fell short in New York. Chrome finished fourth at the Belmont, while I’ll Have Another withdrew due to injury just days before the race.

After winning the Kentucky Derby earlier in May, Nyquist had designs on joining that group, with trainer Doug O’Neill and jockey Mario Gutierrez being the same pair that brought I’ll Have Another to the brink four years earlier. Instead, Nyquist finished third in the Preakness at Pimlico.

After starting slow at Churchill Downs, Exaggerator charged hard at the end, only to finish 1¼ lengths behind Nyquist, and in second place. Exaggerator had the same slow start on Saturday at Pimlico, but this time the late charge was more than enough, winning the Preakness by 3½ lengths.

O’Neill told reporters on Saturday after losing the Preakness that, even with no Triple Crown at Stake, Nyquist running in the Belmont Stakes was “a strong possibility,” per Clare Novak of Blood-Horse Publications.