Arcangelo won the Belmont Stakes 2023. The horse, trained by Jena Antonucci, beat Bob Baffert’s National Treasure — which had won the Preakness.
Also read: Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo: Who is trainer Jena Antonucci and jockey Javier Castellano?
The winner will receive $900,000 this year. The runner-up gets $270,000. Antonucci is now the first female trainer to win the race in its 155 years. Arcangelo finished the race in 2:29.23 and 1 1/2 lengths in front of favored Fotre. Tapit Trice came third.
Here’s the full breakdown for the Belmont Stakes purse.
Place Prize money
1 – $900,000
2 – $270,000
3 – $150,000
4 – $75,000
5 – $45,000
6 – $30,000
7 – $15,000
8 – $15,000
Mage won the Preakness Stakes three weeks ago, which means Belmont had no chance of producing a Triple Crown winner. Forte was the favorite.
Belmont Stakes 2023’s prize purse was $1.5 million, equal to the Preakness Stakes purse.
“I give all the credit to the horse,” said jockey Javier Castello after the Belmont win. He rode Mage to victory in the Kentucky Derby.
“This is a wonderful horse. I’m really happy for her, you know, she’s a really good woman. She’s a good horseman.”
The Triple Crown series has been marred by the deaths of horses at Churchill Downs over the past month. Trainer Bob Baffert’s horse died on Preakness day.
However, Saturday was Antonucci’s day. Ahead of the race she had said: “I think that’s the secondary part to all of this. If that happens, it’s an amazing accomplishment. But considering that I’m not going to be out there running and I’m not going to be the one out there riding, I’m just the benefactor of, hopefully, all the stars aligning.”
She added that women are coming up in the sport.
“There is probably a shift that is happening. It’s going to be a slow shift. It always is. But I think it’s across the board. This industry tends to be a bit behind the mainstream corporations and the media and whatnot. So, it’s shifting, but it’s going to take time and perseverance by the women.”
