Sense of Normalcy Increases as Belmont Park Opens

Normalcy may not be in full bloom at the New York Racing Association, but the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter with each passing week.

When Belmont Park opens April 22 for its 48-day spring/summer meet, it will serve as yet another example of how much has changed from a year ago when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered New York racing for 80 days, delayed the opening of Belmont Park by more than a month, and generated the kind of upheaval that transformed the Belmont Stakes (G1) from the last and longest of the Triple Crown races into the first and shortest of the trio.

On Thursday, business will be pretty close to usual.

"We're looking forward to being at Belmont Park and having the Belmont Stakes back on its normal schedule," NYRA CEO and president Dave O'Rourke said. 

After the pandemic led to the debilitating one-two punch of the cancellation of some stakes coupled with reduced purses, Belmont Park's 2021 stakes schedule has a look much akin to the 2019 slate and overnight purses are higher than ever.

"The stakes schedule is back to our normal patterns, and we've had a pretty big purse increase," said NYRA senior vice president of racing operations Martin Panza. "We have a lot of outfits that will be back in the next week or two and some new ones that weren't here the last couple of seasons. That's a good thing for the quality of the racing and an increase in field size."

A total of 59 stakes worth $16.95 million, highlighted by the June 5 Belmont Stakes and seven grade 1 stakes on the undercard, will serve up echoes of memorable meets from the days long before face masks became a part of everyday life.

A total of 11 grade 1 stakes will be contested following a 2020 meet marred by the pandemic that was reduced to 25 days with 40 stakes for $7 million and nine grade 1s with only essential personnel on hand.

Fans can watch the Belmont Stakes on NBC and view each day's card on NYRA's "America's Day at the Races" show on FOX Sports channels, and at some point during the meet they will be allowed to return to the serene setting of the Elmont, N.Y., track. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo paved the way for fans to return with his April 14 announcement that New York racetracks can open at 20% capacity beginning April 22.

"My phone blew up as soon as it was announced fans can return," O'Rourke said. "It will be interesting to see the response. It's an unknown. Fans may need to purchase admission in advance so we can let them in with a pre-printed ticket, but we'll get definitive protocols and get Belmont Park open. We want to open up but we also want to be fiscally prudent with only limited attendance. There obviously will not be a crowd of 75,000 for the Belmont Stakes, but there will be fans in the stands, which is a huge step forward. It's such a big place that we can fit 20% safely, and then we'll focus on Saratoga. Hopefully, by mid-July we'll be in a safer world than opening day at Belmont Park."

Though Cuomo stoked fans' emotions by targeting April 22 as a date to circle on calendars, NYRA has yet to receive the protocols from the state it must follow in order to allow fans on the grounds. Once those are in hand, NYRA can begin to implement them and eventually open its doors. At the earliest, fans may be permitted next weekend for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) simulcast, but until NYRA receives those guidelines that's purely a speculative date and there's no guarantee of when fans can join the limited number of licensed owners who are currently allowed to attend the races.

"We thank the governor for paving the way for a successful spring and summer at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. We are eager to open the doors in the very near future, but can do so only after New York State issues detailed guidance to address health and safety protocols that are specific to the racetrack environment," NYRA spokesperson Pat McKenna said. "Beyond the standard stadium seating that determines capacity at professional sports venues in New York, Belmont Park offers large outdoor picnic areas, indoor seating, a restaurant, as well as other outdoor areas bordering the racetrack and paddock that would ordinarily be accessible to general admission tickets. We do not yet have clarity on how capacity restrictions and safety protocols will impact the use of these areas. At the same time, NYRA is committed to making whatever adjustments are necessary so that the Northwell Health vaccination center operating at Belmont can continue to serve as many New Yorkers as possible even after we are able to reopen to fans.

"Racetracks like Belmont Park are enjoyed by fans in a number of different ways, and we hope to be able to creatively maximize the safe use of these spaces while adhering to the health and safety protocols required by the state. In light of these facts, we will not be able to reopen on April 22 but will announce a reopening date as soon as we are able to review and properly implement the required guidance and protocols."

When fans return, the biggest change will involve the near-completion of the arena on the grounds for the NHL's New York Islanders, which is expected to open in the fall. 

At the racetrack, though the backyard has been basically cut in half to make room for the arena, a new horsemen's lounge and expanded picnic area at the top of the stretch should be completed by Belmont Stakes Day. A new paddock entrance is under construction.

"We want to improve the experience but long term we have to ask ourselves what are the plans for the facility, so it's a balancing act."

Though there are stakes planned for Friday through Sunday this weekend, the graded stakes action will not commence until May 1 with the trio of the Sheepshead Bay Stakes (G2T), Fort Marcy Stakes (G2T), and Westchester Stakes (G3). The first grade 1 stakes is the May 8 Man o' War Stakes (G1T), one of five graded stakes on that card.

Belmont Stakes Day will once again be NYRA's crown jewel with a glittering array of grade 1 stakes that also includes the Metropolitan Handicap, Manhattan Stakes, Ogden Phipps Stakes, Acorn Stakes, Longines Just a Game Stakes, Woody Stephens Stakes, and the Jaipur Stakes.

"With all those other stakes, Belmont Stakes Day is a must-see day, even without a Triple Crown," O'Rourke said.

The rejuvenated stakes schedule also features the return of NYRA's Turf Triple for 3-year-olds with a trio of $1 million stakes for males and three $700,000 tests for fillies.

The Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) and Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) for fillies, both at 1 1/4 miles, begin the series July 10 on the closing weekend of the meet. Last year, both stakes were held during the Belmont Park fall meet.

The Turf Triple will then shift to Saratoga Race Course for the Aug. 7 Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T), which was elevated to grade 1 status this year for its third edition, and the Aug. 8 Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes (G3T).

The chase ends Sept. 18 at Belmont Park with both the Jockey Club Invitational Stakes and the Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes, a pair of races that were not contested last year due to the pandemic.

"We still have some growing to do but the Saratoga Derby was just named a grade 1 stakes, and I feel comfortable that we'll have good runnings this year, and they will make the other races grade 1s for next year," Panza said. "Anything new takes time to develop, but it's the right thing to do and people should respond."

After travel restrictions enacted during the pandemic prevented Europeans from participating in New York races last year, Panza is looking forward to greeting horses from the barn of European trainer Charlie Appleby, who is sending Godolphin's UAE Derby Sponsored by Emirates NBD (G2) winner Rebel's Romance  across the Atlantic for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes as well as four other runners for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival stakes.

Panza said he was greatly appreciative of help from New York U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and his staff, Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, The Jockey Club, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association for their help in lifting the restrictions.

Aside from the Europeans, Panza is also hopeful that a Japanese entrant may ship in for the Belmont Stakes and partake in a $1 million bonus for a 3-year-old based in Japan who wins the final leg of the Triple Crown.

With Belmont Park back in action, the quality of racing will enjoy a noticeable uptick, though Panza voiced some disappointment in how long some of the circuit's mainstays are taking to return to New York, even though the meet's first condition book was released two months ago.

"We've still got people slowly coming back from Florida, and I don't necessarily understand that because most of them go down to Florida and have not been running so you would think they would be coming back up here champing at the bit to get back here and run," Panza said. "The condition book has been out since February, so I'm not quite sure of what's going on. They can see our purses are double what they are in Florida but people haven't gotten here for opening day. There's a flight coming from California on the 27th, and we have horses coming from Oaklawn Park but the Florida group is coming back slowly, and they aren't ready to run, so it's confusing. Hopefully, by mid-May or June we'll get into gear."

Purses for overnight races will be at a record level with $90,000 open maiden races, yet the fields for the first two cards were not equally robust. There are eight races on Thursday's card with two fields of seven or less and among the races that were not used included a $20,000 claiming sprint for 3-year-olds with a purse of $48,000 and a $40,000 claimer on the turf for 3-year-old fillies with a $66,000 purse.

There will be nine races Friday, but three of them have six or less entrants, and, while there were separate $90,000 maiden races for 2-year-old colts and fillies in the condition book for Thursday and Friday, there will be just one race Friday with a field of five that includes three fillies and two males.

Among the races that went unused in Friday's condition book was a novel claiming race at 1 1/8 miles on the turf for horses with a $250,000 tag and with a purse of $100,000.

"Next year, we're going to make more of an effort to tell people they have to be here by April 22," Panza said.

As an incentive to attract horsemen once Oaklawn Park closes May 1, NYRA is tacking on an extra 30% to purse money from a horse's first and second starts at Belmont Park, provided that horse's last race was at the 2021 Oaklawn meet. There will also be a $1,500 bonus for that horse's first start at the spring/summer meet.

There's also an $800 credit towards shipping expenses for horses stabled at the Fair Hill Training Center.

The roster of stables on hand for the meet includes the additional presence of about 20 horses from owner/trainer Karl Broberg, as well as runners from trainers Peter Miller, Vladimir Cerin, and Robertino Diodoro, and about 20 more from Juan Vazquez.