Rain Can't Dampen Spirits at Belmont Park

The morning forecast for Belmont Park, from meteorologists, was gloomy.

There were calls for heavy rain and thunderstorms in Elmont, N.Y. Even the possibility of hail.

The rain did indeed come, in a big way, before the second race, turning the main track into a "good" surface.

Yet for everyone associated with the New York Racing Association and New York racing, it felt like a wonderful day at Belmont with bright sunshine and not a cloud in the sky, even if there were no fans on hand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After 2 1/2 months in mothballs, racing returned to New York June 3, and once again, beautiful Belmont Park played its time-honored role as an entertaining diversion from the word's ills.

An oasis for the sport more now than ever before, Belmont Park gave racing a much-needed shot in the arm. The initial race of the day was the first of its kind at a NYRA track in 80 days, a period dating to March 15. And when the gates opened for a field of $20,000 maiden claimers, jockeys and trainers were once again earning commissions. Owners finally had a source of revenue to offset the $100 or so they pay on a daily basis to care for their horses. The betting public was back to trying to solve the riddle of races on a dirt course known as Big Sandy and a pair of turf courses.

For the racing world, all was well again, despite some early static from Mother Nature.

Especially for jockey Reylu Gutierrez. The 23-year-old New York-based jockey had not ridden in a race since March 15, staying in at home in the Empire State during the pandemic, and was overcome with emotion after he guided owner/trainer Rudy Rodriguez's favored Star of the West ($4.90) to a comfortable 5 1/2-length score in the long-awaited first race.

"I had a little tear in my eye after the race," the Rochester, N.Y., native said. "This means the world to me. I grew up watching NYRA racing, growing up in Finger Lakes. I stayed here the whole pandemic. I galloped horses, jogged horses, breezed horses, whatever it took to earn my place here at NYRA. For guys like me who have been working and fighting for a place, it was very emotional to come here today."

In addition to his appearance in the winner's circle, Gutierrez joined the rest of the Belmont jockey colony in the paddock before the first race to observe a moment of silence. After first bowing their heads out of respect for the people who died during the pandemic, he and every other jockey took a knee to show their support for the anti-racism protests sparked by the death of George Floyd.

"There's a lot going on in the world, and it was a show of respect to all causes and all people and how we here at NYRA support everyone and how horse racing in general supports all ethnicities around the world," Gutierrez said. "It's a worldwide sport and it doesn't matter what color you are, what religion you are, what ethnicity you are. What matters is that in horse racing, we are one."

For Rodriguez, the victory came through a rather unorthodox method. Back on July 14, 2019, he claimed Star of the West out of his first start for $20,000 on behalf of e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, which owns Rushing Fall, who won the featured Beaugay Stakes (G3T) Wednesday.

When the son of Flashback  finished a well-beaten fourth, a decision was made to convert him into a track pony. After the horse was given away, however, the new owner told Rodriguez he thought Star of the West might still have some racing days left in him, so Rodriguez brought Star of the West back to the races.

It took some time, but the trainer was rewarded with an easy score in a race that ushered racing back to New York and gave Rodriguez, who was second in the trainers' standings at the abbreviated Aqueduct Racetrack meet with 32 wins, his first victory since the Big A closed five weeks earlier than expected because of the pandemic.

"It was a long time coming," Rodriguez said, "but thank God, we got it done. It's a great start for us. We're happy to be here and to be able to race. We're trying to be safe and keep moving forward."

The sight of horses racing against the historic backdrop of Belmont Park was also satisfying for trainer Todd Pletcher, the seven-time Eclipse Award winner and the sport's all-time leading earner.

"The whole country, global racing for that matter, needs New York racing up and going, so it's great to see racing again at Belmont," said Pletcher, who has 15 training titles at Belmont Park. "It looks like everything has gotten off to a smooth start, and let's hope we can keep it that way and things can improve so that we can get to the point where fans will be allowed to attend. I know I have a lot of owners who want to come out and see their horses. Hopefully, we can get to that point when it's safe to do so."

It being horse racing, there were upsets. In particular, in the third race, the favorite was a 2-year-old making his career debut for Wesley Ward. No surprise there. What added to the appeal, given all that has happened in the world in the past few months, was the son of Malibu Moon 's name.

It's Fauci, in honor of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who was a fixture on television during the dark days of the pandemic.

"When I saw they named him that, I said, 'Uh-oh, they must really like this one,'" Pletcher said.

Fauci, like most of Ward's firsters, showed early speed but couldn't kick away from Prisoner, owned by Repole Stable and trained by Pletcher. Prisoner, a son of Violence , took charge in the stretch and scampered away to win by 4 3/4 lengths.

A horse who was supposed to be a pony winning the first race? A show of solidarity? An even-money favorite going down to defeat? Pletcher winning a 2-year-old race? All in the first three races?

New York racing is indeed back, seemingly without skipping a beat.