$1 Million Bonus Offered for Japan-Based Belmont Winner
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Photo: Rick Samuels
The New York Racing Association will again offer a $1 million bonus to the connections of any Japan-based horse who wins the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes (G1) Saturday, June 5, at Belmont Park.
The three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from Thursday, June 3, through Saturday, June 5, will encompass 17 total stakes, including eight grade 1 races on Belmont Stakes Day, capped by the $1.5 million "Test of the Champion" for 3-year-olds in the 1 1/2-mile final leg of the Triple Crown.
The $1 million bonus, offered for the first time in 2017, is in addition to the $800,000 winner's share of the Belmont Stakes, which is contested at 1 1/2 miles (2,400 meters), the same distance as classic races in Japan.
In 2016 the Japan-based Lani competed in all three legs of the Triple Crown, with his best showing being a third-place finish in the Belmont Stakes. The Japan-based Master Fencer , who was elevated to sixth in the 2019 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), closed to finish fifth in that year's Belmont.
To qualify for the bonus, a horse must have made at least three starts in Japan prior to starting in the Belmont and must be nominated to North America's Triple Crown series. In the event of a dead-heat victory, the connections will receive a $600,000 bonus.