Belmont Stakes
'TDN Rising Star' We the People (Constitution) put on a show for those that braved the rain at Belmont Saturday--and the fans watching at home--with a dominant and seemingly effortless victory in the GII Peter Pan S., the local prep for the GI Belmont S. June 11. Dispatched as the 5-2 second choice behind 2-1 favorite Set Sail (Malibu Moon), We the People broke alertly and hustled up to take immediate control. Clicking off opening splits of :23.46 and :47.24 on a clear lead, the bay was still well within...
It'll be hard to separate the eight-horse field lined up in Saturday's GIII Peter Pan S. at Belmont, the track's traditional prep for the June 11 GI Belmont S., as evidenced by four horses landing between 3-1 and 4-1 on the morning line. Given the narrowest of nods at 3-1 is WinStar Farm, CMNWLTH and Siena Farm's We the People (Constitution). Making a somewhat belated debut going a mile Feb. 12 at Oaklawn, the $230,000 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream buy kicked away to an impressive 5 3/4-length romp, and was similarly dominant...
The New York Racing Association will hold a series of jobs fairs to fill temporary employment positions in support of the 2022 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which will take place at Belmont Park from Thursday, June 9 to Saturday, June 11. To fill the approximately 700 temporary positions required to support the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival operation, NYRA will hold three job fairs at Belmont Park from May 12 to May 14 to hire betting clerks, white caps, cashiers, hospitality team members, ticket scanners, program sellers, ushers and supervisors. Betting...
Agave Racing Stable, owned by Mark Martinez, will be presenting a major gift to the Ed Brown Society (EBS) Saturday Apr. 30, in the Winner's Circle at Santa Anita Park, after the running of the inaugural Ed Brown Memorial. The race's namesake was born into slavery in 1850 in Lexington, KY. He went on to apprentice under Ansel Williamson, the African-American trainer of the first Kentucky Derby winner, Aristides. Ed Brown went on to become one of the most accomplished horsemen in thoroughbred racing, winning the Belmont Stakes as a...
Wanamaker's April Sale will offer 31 lots comprised of yearlings, 2-year-olds in training, racing prospects, broodmare prospects, broodmares, and mares and foals Apr. 28. Headlining this month's offerings is Jimmy P (Slumber {GB}) (hip 12), a winning 4-year-old gelding who is a full-brother to recent GIII Transylvania S. winner, Sy Dog (Slumber {GB}). Also featured is Line of Vision (Court Vision) (hip 18), a four-time stakes winner, and earner of over $240,000. She is being sold in-foal to GI Belmont S. winner, Tiz the Law, for the 2023 breeding season....
A total of 312 sophomores were nominated for this year's Triple Crown series at the early nomination deadline of Jan. 29. The number of early nominations slipped 4.3%, or 14 horses, from last year's total of 326. The nominated group is led by Grade I winners Corniche (Quality Road), Jack Christopher (Munnings), Pinehurst (Twirling Candy) and Rattle N Roll (Connect). Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), winner of last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and likely 2-year-old champion female, is one of six fillies made eligible for the Triple Crown. Nominees...
Tickets for the 2022 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will go on sale Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.com. Capacity for the June 11 Belmont Stakes card will be 50,000 fans. Fewer general admission tickets will be available for the festival following the construction of the UBS Arena, which reduced the size of the Belmont Park backyard. The capacity of Belmont Park is expected to expand in future years following the completion of a significant capital improvement project that will provide spectator access to the infield. In January, NYRA received...
The stakes schedule for the 44-day Belmont Park spring/summer meet, which will feature 59 stakes races worth $16.95 million in total purses, was announced by NYRA Friday. The meet will open on Thursday, April 28 and continue through Sunday, July 10. It will offer 12 Grade I contests and seven races with purses of $700,000 or higher, with four of those contests coming during the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from Thursday, June 9 through Saturday, June 11. Tickets for the 2022 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will go on sale...
'TDN Rising Star' Essential Quality (Tapit--Delightful Quality, by Elusive Quality), a leading Eclipse Award finalist for champion 3-year-old colt, heads to the breeding shed with an impressive line-up of mares for his first season at stud at Darley's Jonabell Farm in Kentucky. The 2020 champion 2-year-old colt and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner continued to add to his loaded resume at three, capturing the GI Belmont S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. He concluded his career with a third-place finish against his elders in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. The...
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and FOX Sports have reached an agreement with the latter acquiring exclusive media rights for the GI Belmont Stakes, beginning in 2023. The eight-year agreement runs through 2030 and includes the entire Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which is the multi-day event of top races preceding the Belmont S., as well as a new title sponsorship deal which grants NYRA Bets the title sponsorship to the Belmont S. "FOX Sports has quickly become the year-round home of the finest Thoroughbred racing in the country,"...
Intangibles make good horses great horses. Consigned to the widest trip of any of the five runners left for Saturday's GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga, Godolphin's 'TDN Rising Star' and reigning 2-year-old male Eclipse Award winner Essential Quality (Tapit) was under the pump fully a half-mile from home, but--as he has demonstrated on more than one occasion during a season that appears again to be on a championship trajectory--the gunmetal gray colt looked a rival straight in the eye, wagged his finger Dikembe Mutumbo-style and willed himself to the...
The Belmont Park spring/summer meet generated $632,208,251 in all-sources handle, a 20.6% increase over the 2019 spring/summer meet and 63.5% above the 2020 spring/summer meet, which was abbreviated to just 25 days because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spring/summer meet, which began Apr. 22 without spectators in attendance before reopening to a limited number of spectators May 1, boasted 59 stakes races worth $16.95 million in total purse money. Average daily handle over the 48 days of racing was $13,171,005, a 20.6% increase over 2019. The abbreviated 2020 spring/summer meet...