For more than a century, Belmont has been the stage for many of racing’s greatest legends, showcasing legends such as Man o’ War, Curlin, Beldame, Rachel Alexandra, Seabiscuit, Cigar and many others. It began in 1902, when a syndicate headed by August Belmont II and former Secretary of the Navy William C. Whitney sought land on Long Island to build the most elaborate track in America, one modeled after the great race courses of Europe. They found what they were looking for on the border of Queens County and Nassau County. In 2015, $5 million in improvements were made to the transit rotunda on the west end of the Grandstand, as well as new rail station platforms, which increased the Belmont Station train capacity to 10 cars and improved egress from the track on major racing days.