I had previously mentioned my negative lean towards the retop in spring time 3's and while doing a speed run through the Belmont Archive, I noticed two things :

Point Given had the classic retop and exploded to a big new number.

Derby favorite Stephen Got Even entered the Belmont off a flatter retop line and regressed.

I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts or facts to share on the subject.
I'm aware that there are many variables involved in the line in question, such as timing, the nature of the middle race, trainer, etc.

The other thing I noticed is that there were some pretty slow horses in some of those years.