Belmont Park

Backstretch workers at Belmont Park will soon receive some relief in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic in the form of $50 gift cards donated by United Way of Long Island. The cards, which total more than $30,000 in value, will be distributed to all backstretch workers by members of the Backstretch Employee Service Team of New York (B.E.S.T.) and the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA). This gift expands a program that kicked off earlier this month in which backstretch workers completing quarantine received gift cards, courtesy of United Way...

The New York Race Track Chaplaincy of America (NYRTCA) is asking for support to provide woman living and working on the Belmont Park backstretch and the surrounding community with 'Baskets of Blessings' this coming Mother's Day. A donation of $100 will fund a special basket which will be lovingly prepared and include an assortment of food, toiletries, and special gifts. Each basket will be hand-delivered by the NYRTCA ahead of Mother's Day, Sunday, May 10. "The mothers of our backstretch community have perhaps been most impacted by the current crisis,...

As the calendar turned to mid-April, suddenly opening day at Saratoga doesn't seem that far off. The meet is set to begin in less than three months, on July 16. And while resuming racing at Belmont is of more immediate concern, it's not too early for the New York Racing Association team to begin to explore options for Saratoga, options that should include racing downstate throughout the summer. That's assuming that NYRA is allowed to race at all. The only thing we know now is that Belmont will not open...

In a move that seemed inevitable, the New York Racing Association, Inc. announced Thursday that the opening of the Belmont Park spring/summer meet will be delayed due to the continuing impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Highlighted by the 152nd running of the GI Belmont S. June 6, the 51-day Belmont Park spring/summer meet was originally scheduled to begin Apr. 24 and conclude July 12. "We are working closely with the New York State Gaming Commission and public health officials to determine a timeline for the resumption of live racing...

The New York Race Track Chaplaincy of America has launched a matching gift drive for its food pantry that will benefit backstretch workers at Belmont Park as they deal with the many challenges posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Donations to the food pantry made between now and June 6 will be matched up to $25,000 by a member of the New York Racing Association (NYRA) Board of Directors. That gives the Chaplaincy the potential to raise up to $50,000 for its pantry, one of the few in the area...

Aqueduct will be re-purposed as a temporary hospital, and racing will not resume there again at the winter or spring meets, according to a press release from the New York Racing Association Saturday afternoon. When racing does resume, it is expected to be at Belmont Park, which is currently scheduled to open Apr. 24. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo raised the possibility of making Aqueduct a temporary hospital at his press briefing Friday, and said he would seek the required permission from the federal government to serve the borough of...

The Board of Directors and staff of the Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. sent out the following message Friday: "With the doors of Anna House closed, and upcoming events postponed, the BCCA staff is working remotely as we continue to be true to our mission to serve the children and the families of the backstretch. While all of these measures are necessary, they do come with financial consequences for our organization as we have a large overhead which must be maintained during this closure. We are monitoring the situation closely...

The number of individuals who work on the Belmont backstretch and have tested positive for coronavirus has risen to six. On Mar. 19, NYRA confirmed that a backstretch employee had tested positive and, according to NYRA Communications Director Patrick McKenna, five more racetrack workers at Belmont have tested positive since that time. After the first case of the virus was found, NYRA announced that live racing at Aqueduct had been postponed indefinitely. On Wednesday, NYRA announced that live racing was suspended through at least Apr. 5. With the latest outbreak,...

George Hall's Max Player (Honor Code), winner of the Feb. 12 GIII Withers S., worked seven furlongs in 1:27.20 (1/1) at Belmont Park last Wednesday. The sophomore had been expected to make his next start in the Apr. 4 GII Wood Memorial S. before racing was suspended in New York. "He worked really well," said trainer Linda Rice. "We had planned on shooting towards the Wood Memorial and he had been training really nicely into that race." Rice said the recent announcement moving the GI Kentucky Derby to Sept. 5...

Levy has been selected as the food-and-beverage provider at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course by The New York Racing Association Inc. Levy will begin servicing Belmont with the opening of the spring meet Apr. 24, as part of a multi-year agreement. Following the conclusion of the spring meet July 12, live racing shifts to Saratoga Race Course July 16, and Levy will manage all concessions and hospitality areas, including the 1863 Club, The Stretch, Turf Terrace, Club Terrace, The Porch and Easy Goer. Levy will manage a hospitality team...

The GII John A. Nerud S., a 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, and the 10-furlong GII Suburban H. will be moved up one week to the July 4 card at Belmont Park and will be televised on NBC. "By moving these races up one week, we'll be able to showcase the Stars and Stripes Racing Festival to a national audience on NBC," said Tony Allevato, NYRA CRO and President of NYRA Bets. The July 4 card will also include the Manila S., a one-mile...

Edited Press Release Jean Claude Jaramillo says his favorite memories working at the New York Racing Association, Inc. are easy choices: being a part of the security horse detail of the last two Triple Crown winners: Justify in 2018 and American Pharoah in 2015. But it's not the highlight. "That I get to be a part of this team is what I'm proudest of here," says Jaramillo, an equine investigator specialist on NYRA's four-person Safety & Integrity team and the new chair of the global Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI)....