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 […]
Tag: Belmont Park
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 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 […]
Fauci (the Horse) Brings Infectious Enthusiasm to Belmont Park’s Opening Day
You can call what transpires today at Belmont Park a serendipitous collision of circumstances. Belmont Park opens for spectator-free racing Wednesday – 5 ½ weeks later than planned due to the coronavirus pandemic. And the star of the third race of a COVID-19-delayed meet is a 2-year-old horse named Fauci. […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]