Belmont Stakes Racing Festival

No fewer than 116 horses recorded workouts over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Saturday morning, including the heaviest hitters from the barn of trainer Bill Mott. Reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief) returned to the tab for the first time since his runner-up effort to White Abarrio (Race Day) when making his seasonal debut in the GII Oaklawn Handicap on Apr. 18. The Godolphin homebred was partnered in his work by his regular exercise rider Jimmy Quispe and went an easy half-mile in :50.05 (67/88). "He went...

Approximately 175 Stewart's Shops throughout the greater Capital Region will offer special Belmont Stakes Racing Festival three-day admission passes under a continuing partnership with New York Racing Association. The $99 pass--a 15% savings based on individual day pricing--includes general admission for three days of the final Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course from June 4-6. "Our long-standing partnership with Stewart's Shops once again includes three-day passes for the final Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga, providing fans with the opportunity to secure multi-day general admission at a discounted...

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 New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host a job fair on Thursday, Feb. 26, to recruit employees for the 2026 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course, the track said via a press release Friday. The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival job fair will be held from 2-7 p.m. ET on the first floor of the 1863 Club. Applicants must be at least 15 years of age and have New York State Certified Working Papers. Prospective security guards, cashiers and betting clerks must be at least 18 years...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - And now for the main event. With nine days of racing already in the books--a proper warmup by any measure, topped by the GI Belmont Stakes--the 157th season of racing at Saratoga begins Thursday with a 10-race program. It is the earliest-possible start in the calendar-driven schedule for the 40-day season that closes on Labor Day Sept. 1. With one exception in 1982, in the 45 years after racing resumed at Saratoga in 1946 following World War II, Saratoga was what eventually came to be known...

Tournament newcomer Madison Mattmiller bested a field of 77 entries to capture the 2025 Belmont Stakes Challenge, which was contested from Friday, June 6 through Saturday, June 7 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. Mattmiller, a 34-year-old bloodstock agent from Lexington, Ky. who works with Black Type Thoroughbreds, took home $57,750 from the prize pool awarded to the top-four finishers plus her $66,171.30 bankroll earned over the course of the tournament. In victory, Mattmiller also secured a seat at the 2025 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge from...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victories of Sapphire Beach and Hey Nay Nay. No Nay Never Sires Pair Of Juvenile Debut Winners Sapphire Beach, flying the flag for Three Diamonds Farm, won a five-furlong sprint over a sloppy Churchill main track on May 30 (video). Trained by George "Rusty" Arnold, the Charlie Brooks-bred re-rallied to finish second after being cut off by the winner, and the placings were reversed in...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There may not be a better person to talk to about the highly anticipated rematch between GI Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) in Saturday's GI Belmont Stakes than longtime Bridlewood Farm General Manager George Isaacs. Founded in 1976 by Arthur and Martha Appleton and currently owned by John and Leslie Malone, Bridlewood Farm (their legendary red-and-white silks were worn by Umberto Rispoli for that heart-stopping second leg of Triple Crown) campaigns Journalism in partnership with Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners,...

2nd-SAR, $100k, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 11:20a.m. ET Coming into this maiden with a number of bullet works to his credit, COPIOUS (Curlin) will debut in the colors of Tranquility Lake Farms for trainer Bill Mott. With four bullets at Payson and two over the Oklahoma training track, the chestnut is the son of MGISW Paradise Woods (Union Rags) and hails from the immediate female family of MGSW & GISP Mr. Greeley (Gone West). His dam's half-sister Paradise Bay (Blame) has produced SW Reef Runner (This Big Beast) and his...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Undefeated GI Kentucky Oaks heroine and Godolphin homebred Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) will put her perfect seven-for-seven record on the line as she takes on six rivals in Friday's GI DK Horse Acorn S. at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. The Acorn is one of six graded stakes races on Friday's 14-race program, which also features three other Grade I events--the GI Ogden Phipps S., a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar; the GI New...

The 2025 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival--held for the second straight year at Saratoga Race Course while the transformation of the new Belmont Park continues--begins with a 10-race program saluting New York-breds on Wednesday. 'New York Showcase Day' will feature six $200,000 stakes races exclusively for New York-breds--the Bouwerie S., Commentator S., Critical Eye S., Kingston S., Mike Lee S. and Mount Vernon S. Morning-line favorites for the six stakes races are as follows: Kay Cup (Instagrand) (Bouwerie) (9-5); Bank Frenzy (Central Banker) (Commentator) (7-5); Sterling Silver (Cupid) (Critical Eye) (1-1);...

Accomplished artist Mark Tremonti will headline the entertainment lineup for the 2025 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced Monday afternoon. On Belmont Stakes day June 7, members of Tremonti's band will perform multiple trackside orchestral sets, culminating in Tremonti's vocal rendition of "New York, New York" before the running of the 157th GI Belmont Stakes. The day will include five Grade I events among eight gradeds total. Admission gates will open to the public at 9:00 a.m. with first post for the 14-race...