Nyquist, winner of the 2016 Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness, missed the Belmont due to illness.

[6] Front-running Gettysburg was entered by his owner, WinStar Farm as a "rabbit", to ensure a decent early pace for their other entry, Creator.

[7] The field was drawn on 8 June and the Preakness Stakes winner Exaggerator was installed as the 9/5 morning line favorite with thirteen entries.

As expected, Gettysburg went to the early lead, and set a moderate pace — slow compared to the fractions in shorter races, but relatively fast by the standards of the Belmont.

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. then moved the colt up to sixth place down the backstretch, continuing to save ground on the rail.

Ortiz waited patiently until a hole opened, then burst through, rapidly closing on Destin to win by a nose.

[11] The favorite, Exaggerator, had been closer to the front than was normal for him, and raced wide, struggling with jockey Kent Desormeaux to go faster.