Good things come to those who wait. Well, horse racing fans, your patience has been rewarded.
Belmont Park is back!
It’s been a while. Three years, two months and nine days, to be exact. On Sunday, July 9, 2023, Bold Honor won the final race in front of and under the old gargantuan grandstand.
It’s gone now and so are the tens of thousands of mostly empty seats. The new reimagined Belmont will be leaner (6,000 seats) and meaner (a Tapeta synthetic surface designed for New York winter racing).
There are two new turf courses that will drain quicker than the troublesome grass lanes of the past.
The main track will be christened with its first Grade 1 on opening day. International star Forever Young heads a field of five in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
The Japanese-bred has done more globe-trotting than that basketball team from Harlem. He will make his 16th start on his 10th racetrack after winning 11 of 15 (including the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic) and never finishing off the board.
Can Baeza pull off the upset Friday?
“The horse is capable,” said jockey Junior Alvarado, who was originally slated to ride 2025 Derby winner Sovereignty on Friday before he was scratched with an injury. “He just has a lot of trouble leaving the gate.”
Past winners of the JCGC, first run in 1919, include Man O’ War, War Admiral, Sword Dancer, Forego, Exceller, John Henry and Cigar. A legendary lineup. Fox Sports provides coverage.
Moving forward, the lengthy fall meet, which ends Dec. 6, will feature 32 graded stakes, including the Cigar Mile. The 2027 Belmont Stakes will be run at, yes, Belmont after a three-year run at the Spa.
And the Breeders’ Cup Championships return to New York next year for the first time since 2005.
With tracks closing nationwide, The Post asked Alvarado what the re-opening means to the industry.
“It’s a very, very exciting time. It’s a beautiful facility,” he said. “Of course, the riders will have to get used to the new surfaces, the two turf courses and the longer stretch run on the main.” And the Tapeta? “I love it. I love the surface. And it will be a plus for the winter weather in New York.”
“The re-opening of Belmont will be a historic moment in New York,” said Tina Marie Bond, president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “We’re very excited about the state-of-the-art building that will be second to none. New York-breds will compete for record purses. We will have year-round racing. Great programs for our backstretch workers. New owners and trainers will come. It will boost participation and grow our product.”
Hot jocks: Manny Franco is back at Belmont after riding 73 winners, the most ever at a Saratoga Summer Meet. Flavien Prat, Jose Ortiz and his brother, Irad, Hall-of-Famer John Velazquez, Kendrick Carmouche, and Junior Alvarado are just a few of the names that make up the best jockey colony in the U.S.
Top trainers: Chad Brown (42) edged Linda Rice (40) for the training title at the Springs. You can bet your bottom dollar that Todd Pletcher, Brad Cox, Miguel Clement and Mott will saddle their share of winners as well.
