Belmont Park began (in typical Long Island fashion) with a traffic jam. Only this traffic jam was one of the Island's first. The year was 1905 and more than 40,000 racing fans flocked to Belmont Park on opening day to see the first race. Unfortunately, since the roads were clogged with jalopies and traffic lights only existed in black and white, not everyone made it to see the horse of the park's co-founder, August Belmont II, hold off a 100-1 shot named Oliver Cromwell.

In the century since that first race, making it into the Park has gotten a lot easier. And that's fortunate considering it's now home to the Belmont Stages—the final leg of the Triple Crown. Over the years the 445-acre grounds have also been home to War Relief Day (a benefit for the Red Cross), Back the Attack Day (an effort to sell war bonds), and an international aerial competition hosted by the Wright brothers.