The 1999 Belmont Stakes was the 131st running of the Belmont Stakes and the 95th time the event took place at Belmont Park in

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the 2 ...

Lemon Drop Kid Lemon Drop Kid (foaled May 26, 1996) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Best known for winning the 1999 Belmont Stakes, he was also the champion older horse of 2000 after winning the Brooklyn, Suburban, Whitney Handicaps and the ...

, ridden by José A. Santos and trained by Flint S. "Scotty" Schulhofer, won the 1-1/2 mile stakes race in front of a then-record 85,818 crowd, and thus denying Charismatic winning the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

.1999 Belmont Stakes chart
/ref> Near the finish line, Charismatic fractured two bones in his left front leg. He was quickly pulled up by jockey

Chris Antley Christopher Wiley Antley (January 6, 1966 – December 2, 2000) was an American National Champion and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey. Biography He was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and grew up in Elloree, South Carolina. He left school at ...

, who dismounted and cradled the leg to prevent further injury.Durso, Joseph
"Charismatic's Bid Ends in Injury and Defeat"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. June 6, 1999.

Race Description

Charismatic, who had won both the Kentucky Derby and

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () o ...

, was made the 3-2 favorite in the Belmont as he attempted to win the Triple Crown. His main rivals were expected to be Menifee (5-2), who had finished second in both the Derby and Preakness, and the filly

Silverbulletday Silverbulletday (foaled January 22, 1996 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred champion racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, she was sired by Silver Deputy and out of the GII winning mare Rokeby Rose. Her damsire was Tom Rolfe, the 1965 Preakness Sta ...

(5-1), who had won eight straight races.

, who had finished ninth in the Derby and third in the Peter Pan Stakes, was considered a longshot at odds of nearly 30-1. In the absence of other speed horses, Silverbulletday was expected to set the early pace. Rather than let her get an uncontested lead and perhaps steal the race, Chris Antley on Charismatic decided to press the pace. The two raced heads apart for the first half mile, completed in a relatively fast time of 47 seconds. Silverbulletday then opened up a half length lead before tiring, eventually finishing seventh. Charismatic responded to a challenge from Stephen Got Even around the final turn, and briefly took the lead despite drifting out as they entered the stretch. Meanwhile, Lemon Drop Kid rated in eighth place behind the early pace. Around the final turn, he started to make up ground after finding room on the rail. Entering the stretch, he was swung wide by jockey José A. Santos and quickly pulled clear of Charismatic. He then withstood a late run from longshot Vision and Verse to win by a head. Charismatic held on for third but was pulled up quickly after the finish line. It was later determined that Charismatic fractured both the sesamoid and

cannon bone Good conformation in the limbs leads to improved movement and decreased likelihood of injuries. Large differences in bone structure and size can be found in horses used for different activities, but correct conformation remains relatively simil ...

s in his left front leg. Antley dismounted and held up Charismatic's leg until the track ambulance arrived to van the horse off. The race proved both a low point and highlight in Antley's racing career. In addition to losing a chance to win the Triple Crown, Antley was criticized by some for his racing tactics in pressing the early pace. On the other hand, he earned widespread praise for pulling up Charismatic so quickly: the horse survived his injuries.

Payout

* $2 Exacta (6-2) paid $1,537.00 * $2 Trifecta (6-2-4) paid $5,343.00

Full results

References

{{Thoroughbred Racing on ABC Belmont Stakes races Belmont Stakes Belmont Stakes Belmont Stakes Belmont Stakes

Race Description

Payout

Full results

See also

References