Belmont Stakes, June 6 2009

History

The Belmont Trophy

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The August Belmont Memorial Cup By Ashley Herriman

The August Belmont Memorial Cup awarded to the winner of the Belmont Stakes is a solid silver bowl and cover made by Tiffany & Co. measuring 18 inches tall, 15 inches across and 14 inches at the base.
 
The trophy was first presented to August Belmont I as the winning owner of Fenian in the 1869 Belmont (3rd running).  Atop the cover is a silver figure of Fenian, and the bowl is supported by the figures of three additional horses – Herod, Eclipse and Matchem – who represent the respective superior grandsons of the three foundation sires of all Thoroughbreds: the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Barb.  Of these, the lineage of Eclipse is predominant in the modern Thoroughbred.   
 
From 1869 until 1926, this trophy remained with the Belmont family.  In 1926, Mrs. Eleanor R. Belmont, the widow of Major August Belmont II, donated the trophy to the Westchester Racing Association, then a governing body of New York racing, to be established as the permanent trophy for the race. 
 
In a letter to Mrs. Belmont dated June 8, 1926, Westchester Racing Secretary John J. Coakley wrote:
 
“As desired by you, the Cup will be known in the future as the August Belmont Memorial Cup and will be contested for annually in the renewal of the ‘Belmont Stakes’ at Belmont Park, the winner of each renewal to retain possession of the Cup until the succeeding year.”
 
And so it has been ever since. 
 
In addition to the permanent trophy, the winning owner of the Belmont Stakes also receives a silver miniature of the August Belmont Memorial Cup.
 
The winning trainer and jockey also receive silver miniatures of the August Belmont Memorial Cup.