Belmont Park

When the new Belmont Park opens on Sept. 18, NYRA will kick off an expanded fall meet that will run through Dec. 6 and include 72 stakes races worth $17.7 million in total purses, the racing association announced Thursday. Among the highlights will be the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, which has been moved back to the downstate track after being run in Saratoga from 2021 through 2025. With a purse of $1 million, it will be the feature race on the first day of racing at the new facility....

The Belmont Park Mini Plans, a new membership program to begin in 2027 designed to provide flexible access to premium hospitality and preferred seating, was launched by The New York Racing Association, Inc. on Wednesday. A limited number of Mini Plans are currently available for the Triple Crown Loge Boxes. Located on the third floor of Belmont Park, the Triple Crown level will offer in-seat tablets for wagering and race viewing, along with lounge seating. The Triple Crown Mini Plan guarantees a loge box for 12 total race days including...

Todd Schrupp, who recently ended his long-time tenure with TVG/FanDuel TV, will join the New York Racing Association's telecast team Thursday. Schrupp announced his initial two-week stint with NYRA via his twitter page Monday. "It's time to move from the past and start looking to the future," Schrupp said in the post. "And when you look at horse racing, the future looks really bright at the New York Racing Association. You look at the remodel of Belmont, and they will have the Breeders' Cup back there next year. So much...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) and Hector Soler, who worked as the head starter at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course between 2020 and 2025, have entered into a settlement agreement in which NYRA will pay Soler two separate sums, one which the parties agreed to keep confidential in exchange for Soler dropping an "unlawful discrimination and retaliation" lawsuit he initiated last year in the wake of being fired by NYRA. The "stipulation of final order and dismissal" was posted Mar. 27 on the docket for the...

Fasig-Tipton will introduce a new format, date, and restored name for the annual fall yearling sale in Timonium, Maryland for 2026, the auction house announced Monday. Previously known as the Timonium Yearling Sale, the auction will once again be known as the Eastern Fall Yearling Sale, reflecting the deep roots and enduring importance to breeders, owners, and trainers in the region. Major regional developments--the new racetrack construction at Pimlico and Belmont Park--marked a beginning to a new era for the Midlantic and Northeast racing circuits, and spurred changes which include...

The stakes schedule for the 2026 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, which will open Friday, July 3, and continue through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7, was released by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) Thursday. Highlighted by the 157th renewal of the $1.25-million DraftKings GI Travers Aug. 29 and the 99th edition of the $1-million GI Whitney Aug. 8, the 46-day summer meet will offer 20 Grade I races among 73 stakes worth over $23,575,000 in total purses. The summer meet will begin with a special July 4th...

The Belmont Park membership program, a new hospitality offering, will be available to fans when the new Belmont Park opens later this year, the New York Racing Association announced Wednesday. Created to provide guests with an elevated race day experience, the membership combines the traditional ambience of box seats with a variety of benefits and amenities, including access to The Overlook, complimentary food and beverage options, preferred parking, priority entrances and personalized concierge services. Located on Belmont's second floor, The Overlook is a year-round dining and social space providing expansive...

The Belmont Stakes Festival, which will be held at Saratoga Race Course for the third and final time from June 3 to 7, will feature 25 stakes races worth $11,075,000. Anchoring the festival is the $2-million GI Belmont Stakes, one of 10 Grade I events over the five days of racing in upstate New York. Also on the Belmont's June 6 card is the $1-million GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap; $1-million GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan; the $500,000 GI Jaipur Stakes; the $500,000 GI Woody Stephens Stakes; the $500,000...

The Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet, which will open Apr. 30 and conclude June 28, will feature 16 stakes races worth $2.475 million in purses and will mark the final days of racing at Aqueduct Racetrack. Highlighting the stakes schedule is the $200,000 GIII Peter Pan Stakes, the New York prep for the GI Belmont Stakes, which will be held May 9. The New York Racing Association will waive entry and starting fees to the Belmont Stakes for the first three finishers of the Peter Pan. The GII...

Trainer James Cassidy died Wednesday at his home in Monrovia, California after suffering from heart disease. He was 80. Born Aug. 21, 1945 in New York City, Cassidy got his start working with show horses at the age of 12. He would later transition to racehorses and in 1975, Cassidy took out his trainer's license. He then spent more than a decade working as an assistant for such top Eastern-based trainers as Joe Canty, Frank Whitely and Charles Sanborne before striking out on his own. Cassidy's first starter as a...

Tickets and hospitality offerings for the final Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at historic Saratoga Race Course will go on sale to the public Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. at BelmontStakes.com/tickets. Fans also have the opportunity to sign up for a presale drawing featuring various ticket packages. Beginning Wednesday and continuing through next Tuesday, fans may enter the drawing at NYRA.com/belmont-stakes/presale/ for the chance to purchase reserved seating and hospitality packages in advance of the general public on-sale. Highlighted by the 158th running of the GI Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA...

The nearly four-year rebuild of the new Belmont Park is scheduled to hit a significant milestone by the end of February, when training on the innermost Tapeta track is set to open. Glen Kozak, the New York Racing Association (NYRA)'s senior vice president of operations and capital projects, delivered that news nugget Friday as part of a broader overview of the track's $455-million reimagining during a meeting of the New York State Franchise Oversight Board (FOB). Before delving into details, Kozak underscored an overall message of "on schedule [and] on...