The August Belmont Trophy is awarded annually to the winning owner of the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

now run at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead, New York, Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough ...

. The silver bowl, created by Paulding Farnham in 1896–97, was awarded to the 1896 Belmont Stakes winner upon its completion. The trophy remained with the Belmont family until 1926 when they donated it as a perpetual trophy, and since that time has been presented to the winning owner of the race for ceremonial purposes only. A silver plate is inscribed and given to the winning owner to keep.New York Racing Association website, Belmont Park home page; http://www.belmontstakes.com/history/records.aspx.

Belmont Trophy

Tiffany & Co. was commissioned by August Belmont Jr. in 1896 to create a silver cup in memory of his late father

August Belmont August Belmont Sr. (born Aron Belmont; December 8, 1813November 24, 1890) was a German-American financier, diplomat, and politician. He served as Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1860 to 1872. He was also a thoroughbred racehors ...

, the namesake of the

, to be presented to the winner of the 1896 event. Using 350 ounces of

sterling silver Sterling silver is an alloy composed mass fraction (chemistry), by weight of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver silver standards, standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. ''Fineness, Fine silver'' ...

, Paulding Farnham crafted a 27-inch high,

acorn The acorn is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), en ...

-shaped bowl supported by a pedestal composed of three

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse statues representing the foundation stallions

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

, Matchem and Herod. The bowl was 15 inches across and 14 inches at the base and had a prominent acorn and oak motif symbolizing the development of modern racing Thoroughbreds from the three foundation sires. The lid was crowned with a statue of the elder Belmont's racehorse

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

who secured Belmont's first win in the Belmont Stakes in 1869. Plans for the cup were unveiled on June 2, the day of the running at Morris Park Racecourse, while the cup was finished the following year in 1897. The cup cost $1,000 to create and augmented the $4,000 in prize money given to the race winner. August Belmont, Jr. himself won the Cup when

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

won the race. Paulding Farnham made several additional Belmont Stakes trophies that were distributed from 1897 to 1907. From 1896 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.”

Awarded trophies

In addition to being presented the permanent trophy for ceremonial purposes only, the winning owner of the Belmont Stakes receives a smaller replica of the trophy to keep. The winning trainer and jockey are also presented with small replicas, while the winning groom is given a statuette to commemorate the victory.

References

External links

Official website
{{Belmont Stakes

Belmont Stakes winners The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

Horse racing in the United States American horse racing trophies Silver objects Belmont Park

Belmont Trophy

Awarded trophies

See also

References

External links