Secretariat continued to extend his advantage for the rest of the race, finishing 31 lengths over the second-place finisher, Twice a Prince. Twice a Prince started slowly and moved along the rail until reaching second position, passing Sham and outpacing My Gallant. Track announcer Chic Anderson described Secretariat's move from the backstretch with the famous call, "Secretariat is widening now. He is moving like a tremendous machine!" Secretariat set the Belmont Stakes track record at 2:24 and the record for largest margin of victory. Secretariat also broke the American record for a mile-and-a-half on a dirt track, breaking the previous record of 2:, set by Going Abroad in 1964. Post positions: 1. Secretariat, 2. Smiles, 3. My Gallant, , 4. Twice a Prince, 5. Sham   Neil Milbert of the "Chicago Tribune" wrote that Secretariat "ran what may have been the greatest horse race in history." When asked about Secretariat's margin of victory, trainer Lucien Laurin stated: "Naturally, not that big!" He further commented on Sham's performance saying "The horse we had to kill, we did." My Gallant's jockey Ángel Cordero Jr. said Secretariat was "just like a car." Secretariat's jockey Ron Turcotte told the press that he saw the timer on the track hit 2:20 and he told himself "Oh I can make it" and continued to press Secretariat forward to break the course record. The UPI wrote that Secretariat's performance in the race put him in the ranks of the greatest race horses of all-time. That day at Belmont Park, $7.9 million was wagered on the nine races that were held during the day, which includes $2.2 million from off-track betting. A total of $5.6 million was bet through the mutuels that day. The Stakes itself had $519,689 bet on it. Bettors holding 5,617 winning parimutuel tickets on Secretariat never redeemed them, presumably keeping them as souvenirs. Through his combined victories at the Belmont Stakes, Preakness Stakes, and Kentucky Derby, Secretariat became the ninth horse to complete the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, and the first horse since Citation in 1948, ending a 25-year period without a Triple Crown winner. Secretariat's times in all three Triple Crown races were course records and still stand.