Floppy Hats, Cuban Cigars and Mint Juleps- We’re Talking The Belmont Stakes, DUH

Bold and Brilliant.

Two words to describe the fashion of the 2015 Belmont Stakes in Long Island, New York this year.

For those of you who are unaware, The Belmont Stakes is an all day horse racing event lasting from 11am-9pm and the spectators consist of New York’s mint julep drinking, floppy hat wearing, cigar puffing elite. Like, you might as well be in an episode of Gossip Girl (Ugh, sigh. Moment of silence to you GG, TCD still binge watches the glorious Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf on Netflix.)

So yes, being comfortable is key for a nearly 12 hour event, but with a crowd like this, you don’t want to be caught in the wrong get up.

It is tradition that women wear large, colorful and eccentric hats. Most are adorned with lace, flowers, peacock feathers, elaborate designs and every one is unique.

Men usually opt for a more “southern gentleman” attire with bow ties, sear sucker suits, suspenders, fedoras and blazers.

This year however was a bit different, with American Pharoah having the opportunity to win the first Triple Crown in over 37 years. The name “American Pharoah” had men and women a like dressing in red, white and blue and wearing gold Egyptian pharaoh (notice the change in spelling because we are now talking about Egyptian royalty) head dresses.

As far as race attendants, the demographic is completely widespread. The younger crowd tends to stay in the grandstand area with beers taking photos, while the older crowd stays in their seats puffing on cigars, checking their bets and reminiscing on the old days of Secretariat and Seabiscuit. But one thing is for sure, The Belmont has been around for 147 years and the fashion will ALWAYS be a tradition in it’s own right. This year however was one for the record books, if you know what I mean.  😉

Be sure to check out all the photos of my experience in TCD’s Exclusive! Behind the Scenes look at the 2015 Belmont Stakes!

– Morgan

Witnessing History- American Pharoah Wins the Triple Crown

Photo: cnn.com

As American Pharoah came out of the far turn, 90,000 people were on their feet in one of the most climactic experiences I have ever witnessed in sports. I get goose bumps just writing about it. As I stood on the tips of my toes near the finish line, searching for that blue and gold jockey helmet I could feel the energy of the grandstand shaking.

It is rare in sports to be a part of something where there is no good team vs. bad team, underdog vs. Hercules, hometown team vs. visiting team. This was different. Everyone was cheering for the same outcome- An American Pharoah victory and the Triple Crown.

As American Pharoah and long time jockey Victor Espinoza bounded into the stretch amid a deafening roar of the crowd, you could sense that history was about to be made.

BOOM. There it was. American Pharoah across the finish line first.

Fedoras were flung high in the air, beers were spilled, grown men were crying, people were hugging strangers, cigars were being smoked and everyone was running to the betting booths.

Espinoza, made history of his own Saturday, as he was the oldest jockey to ever win the Triple Crown and the first Latino jockey to win.

The horse with the misspelled name led the entire race on Saturday and defeated second place Frosted by a comfortable margin of 5-½ lengths. He crossed the finish line in two minutes and 26 seconds- the 6^th fastest time in Belmont History. He joins an elite class of 12 Triple Crown winners.

This was my second consecutive year attending The Belmont Stakes and I will most definitely be back. But throwing on a floppy hat, puffing a cigar, drinking mint juleps, eating funnel cakes with your best friends does not nearly compare to the history I witnessed.

The holy grail of horse racing, the 37-year stretch for a Triple Crown winner has come to an end, now WHO will be next?

– Morgan