The race drew six starters and was won easily by Tyrant who beat George L. Lorillard's runner-up St. Augustine by three lengths, with third place going to Preakness Stakes winner Tecumseh owned and trained by Charles Littlefield Sr.
"[3] In 1884, the two-year-old Tyrant was conditioned for racing on the Rancho Del Paso's three-quarter mile training track but it was decided that the colt was not yet ready for the rigors of competition.
[4] To be prepared and able to compete at racetracks in the New York City area, Tyrant and six other horses along with jockey Patsy Duffy and trainer William Claypool had traveled for 13 days from Rancho Del Paso Stud in Sacramento County, California.
The New York racing community marveled at the excellent condition of the seven horses which had been shipped by rail transport in a boxcar specially built for Rancho Del Paso owner James Ben Ali Haggin.
About the Belmont Stakes, the Breeder and Sportsman wrote that "out of the original entry of sixty-two horses there were only six left in, most of them having been frightened by Tyrant's victory in the Withers.