Tag: Belmont Park

Because the horse bears the name of his late friend Brad McKinzie, Bob Baffert takes special pride when McKinzie wins races like last year's Whitney. He will be one to watch in Saturday's Met Mile at Belmont Park. (Image: NYRA Photo)

McKinzie, Baffert Carry a Special Bond Into Every Race

To Bob Baffert, Saturday’s Grade 1 Met Mile at Belmont Park is more than one of the top older-horse races on Belmont Park’s summer calendar. To the Hall of Fame trainer, watching McKinzie seek history in one of the most historic races on the East Coast means more than another […]

Tiz the Law and Manny Franco captured the 2020 Belmont Stakes in front of an empty Belmont Park grandstand. His next race is expected to be the Aug. 8 Travers Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Getty)

Tiz the Law Rules Again, Captures 152nd Belmont Amid Falling Handle

Even with Tiz the Law passing the “Test of a Champion” with flying colors, the all-sources handle for the 152nd Belmont Stakes and its stakes-packed undercard declined by 33.7% — yet another byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic. Belmont Park normally welcomes nearly 100,000 people for Belmont Saturday, usually the first […]

Veteran trainer Barclay Tagg and Tiz the Law are the team to beat in Saturday's 152nd Belmont Stakes. Tagg, 82, seeks his first Triple Crown title since Funny Cide won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2003. (Image: NY Jockey Club)

Breaking Down The 152nd Belmont Stakes, Worst To First

Yes, it’s condensed to 1 1/8 miles, instead of its typical hearty 1 ½ miles, meaning the Belmont Stakes goes from the longest Triple Crown race to the shortest. Yes, the Belmont Stakes leads off the Triple Crown season, rather than batting in the power-hitting three-hole. And yes, even in […]

Tiz the Law and Manny Franco can afford to relax right now. Tiz the Law is the 6/5 morning-ione favorite for Saturday's Triple Crown-opening Belmont Stakes. (Image: Ryan Thompson/Gulfstream Park)

Starting From Post 8, Tiz the Law Tabbed Belmont Stakes Favorite

To nobody’s surprise, Tiz the Law opened as your healthy 6/5 favorite for Saturday’s 152nd running of the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes. He’ll do so out of the eight post in the 10-horse field, drawn Wednesday afternoon at Belmont Park. And Tiz the Law will do so as the only […]

Ollie's Candy won her first three races and has finished in the money 10 times in 12 races. She goes for her second Grade 1 victory at Belmont Park Saturday in the Ogden Phipps. (Image: Santa Anita Park)

Ollie’s Candy Heads East in Search of a Sweet Trip in Ogden Phipps

Instead of shipping her cross-country to Belmont Park for Saturday’s Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes, John Sadler could have run Ollie’s Candy on his home track at Santa Anita Park. The Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes was cozily sitting right there, like a ripe-for-the-picking peach. Plus, the Santa Maria came […]

Mind Control brings late speed, the ability to overcome adversity and a three-race winning streak into Saturday's Carter Handicap. (Image: Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO)

Carter Handicap Breaks Out of the Gate With a Blur of Sprinting Talent

The depth of the Grade 1 Carter Handicap field provides exotic bettors with a dream handicap opportunity. The mind reels with the exacta, trifecta and superfecta possibilities in a race featuring some of the top sprinting talent in the country. The flip side of that coin, however, comes with figuring […]

Code of Honor's most impressive victory of 2019 came at the Travers Stakes in August. He opens his 4-year-old season Saturday at Belmont Park. (Image: Associated Press)

Code of Honor Seeks Another Mission at Saturday’s Westchester Stakes

Code of Honor’s resume reflects a horse who deserves more credit than just completing the back end of a wild exacta at last year’s Kentucky Derby. And Saturday, last year’s official runner-up in the Derby, opens his 4-year-old campaign in the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes at Belmont Park. The 1 […]

NYRA instituted new safety and claiming regulations the organization said should create a safer, more equitable track for horses. (Image: Brad Penner/USA Today)

NYRA Institutes New Safety Regulations for Belmont Park Meet

Now that the New York Racing Association has set a new date for the Belmont Stakes and a new schedule for its Belmont Park spring/summer meet, the organization moved to creating new entry rule requirements and safety regulations. The organization announced in a release several new entry rule changes that […]

The coronavirus moved the Belmont Stakes to a new June date and a new shorter distance. It will run 1 1/8 miles instead of 1 1/2. (Image: AP Photo)

Triple Crown Picture Finished: Shorter Belmont Stakes Will Run in June

The final jewel to the 2020 Triple Crown fell into place Tuesday morning when the New York Racing Association announced the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes will run Saturday, June 20. With that date, the 152-year-old race opens the Triple Crown for the first time in history. That’s not the only […]

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo explained why he approved horseracing's resumption during his Saturday coronavirus briefing. (Image: WRVO)

New York Racing Resumes in June After Governor’s Approval

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo put his state back in the horseracing game Saturday when he announced during his daily coronavirus briefing New York may resume spectator-free racing June 1. Along with Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields resuming in California and Churchill Downs resuming in Kentucky, this is […]

While racing will soon return to Churchill Downs, the surreal sight of empty stands will stick around for the foreseeable future. (Image: Pat McDonogh: Courier-Journal)

Kentucky, New York Officials Cautiously Plan Return to Live Racing

Government officials in two of the country’s biggest horse racing states, Kentucky and New York, opened the doors for live, spectator-free racing to begin amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcements came separately and, in both cases, contained few details on exactly when live racing would begin again. But in the […]

After postponing racing due to the coronavirus, Belmont Park does not have a date for either its spring/summer meet or the Belmont Stakes. (Image: Getty Images)

Belmont Park Opening Date TBD, Belmont Stakes Still Scheduled for June

The status of the Belmont Stakes remains up in the air while the New York Racing Association has grounded racing at Belmont Park. The organization delayed the spring/summer meet due to the coronavirus pandemic. Belmont Park’s meet was to last 51 days, running from April 24 through July 12. From […]

New York racing fans have an undetermined wait to see the Wood Memorial. New York's premier Derby prep was the latest coronavirus casualty.

Wood Memorial Becomes Latest Derby Prep Shelved Due To COVID-19

With the New York Racing Association’s decision to suspend live racing at Aqueduct Racetrack through at least April 5 because of the coronavirus, another Kentucky Derby prep race went on the shelf. The latest postponed marquee race is the Grade 2 $750,000 Wood Memorial. Previously set for April 4, the […]

Where the turf meets the ice. Iconic moments like Mike Boy Hall of Fame sniper, who racked up 64 goals during the regular season and 17 more in the playoffs, terrorized the Canucks with seven in the Islanders' sweep of the series. Here, the 1982 playoff MVP exults after beating Vancouver goalie Richard Brodeur for one of his two power play tallies in the Isles' 3-1 win in Game 4 that made them the first U.S.-based team to win three consecutive Stanley Cups.

New York Approves $1.3B Belmont Park Arena Project for New NY Islanders Home

Belmont Park, the venerable metro New York City Thoroughbred racetrack, now has key government approval as the site for the new home of the NHL’s New York Islanders. On Thursday, the Empire State Development board unanimously approved a $1.3 billion project that will bring the NHL’s New York Islanders back […]