Belmont Diaries: Draw Day

The Belmont Stakes draw is always a fun event, but when there’s a Triple Crown on the line things get even more exciting. That was certainly true this year as the Belmont Stakes overtook the heart of Manhattan for the post position draw!

For the first time, the draw was held in New York City instead of at Belmont Park, and it was magical to watch horse racing’s elite congregate in Midtown at Rockefeller Center. It was a beautiful day to spend outside, and Belmont Stakes stars and media began to arrive in droves in the minutes before the ceremony began as Prometheus looked on in statue form.

My first stop for the morning was to go see the Belmont Stakes trophies. They’re amazingly opulent, and as a bonus the Triple Crown trophy was on display as well since American Pharoah will strive to become the 12th winner of that elusive prize on Saturday.

Isn’t it stunning? I took as close a look as I could and it has a Cartier maker’s mark so I’m guessing it’s worth a pretty penny!

The Belmont Stakes trophy is exquisite as well – the craftsmanship and detailing are astounding. 

Naturally, I had to take a selfie – how many times does a girl get that close to Triple Crown glory, after all? 

After that, I decided to grab some grub before the festivities really began. It was awesome! There was steak, salmon, Israeli couscous, beefsteak tomatoes and more. I was basically in heaven.

After I scarfed down my delicious lunch, it was time for the people watching to begin! I saw a ton of horse racing’s superstars at the draw. Here is Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez (with a photobomb by Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.)

Donegal Racing’s Jerry Crawford (his team owns Belmont Stakes hopeful Keen Ice) chatting with West Point Thoroughbreds’ president Terry Finley: 

A very happy Todd Pletcher chatted with other guests:

American Pharoah’s jockey Victor Espinoza gave interviews galore:

NBC’s Randy Moss was there, too:

As the countdown to draw time dwindled, the runners’ connections seated themselves at their designated tables. American Pharoah’s trainer Bob Baffert exchanged words with Victor Espinoza moments before the main event:

And then it was draw time! The draw is when horses are assigned their post positions; it’s done by a double-blind process, so it’s completely random. There’s always an element of nervousness and anticipation when it comes to live Draws, and this time was certainly no exception with the added excitement of a Triple Crown on the line.
After all was said and done, American Pharoah garnered the #5 post position, which elicited a cheer from his humans. Here’s my sheet with the complete race information; please note that I used my very best penmanship for you!

After the Draw was over, the Belmont Stakes horses’ connections were invited on stage to talk about their Thoroughbreds. Here’s trainer Bob Baffert talking American Pharoah:

NYRA’s Andy Serling then interviewed Pharoah’s owners Ahmed and Justin Zayat under Rockefeller Center’s signature gold statue:

Jockeys John Velazquez and Javier Castellano took to the stage next to talk about their mounts (Materiality and Madefromlucky, respectively.) 

South African native Mike de Kock, who trains Mubtaahij, rounded out the interviews. 

After that, it pretty much became a press free-for-all, with reporters clamoring to talk to trainers, jockeys, owners and the various horse racing glitterati in attendance. 

I had a few interviews to do myself – in fact, there will be a video about the Draw on the site very soon hosted by yours truly!
It was a fantastic way to kick off the Belmont Stakes ceremonies, and I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow as I chronicle Belmont Stakes runners training in the morning, an afternoon of racing and much more!