Donk to Support Belmont Park Modernization at Rally

Trainer David Donk, a New York native, who also serves on the board of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, will attend a rally at the State Capitol in Albany on Monday in support of NYRA's plan to re-imagine and modernize Belmont Park.

Earlier this year, Gov. Hochul proposed loaning NYRA $455 million to build a new grandstand and additional facilities to develop a world-class venue at Belmont. As budget negotiations continue, racing stakeholders will be joined by members of organized labor and the business community to encourage the legislature to advance this transformational project.

During construction, the project will create $1 billion in economic impact and sustain 3,700 temporary jobs. All construction work will be done using union labor paying a prevailing wage. Following completion, a new Belmont Park will generate $155 million in annual economic impact and support 740 permanent full-time jobs and $51 million in annual labor income. The $455 million loan will be paid back in full, with interest.

Donk spoke in support of the continued development of the Belmont property located adjacent to the 18,000-seat UBS Arena, the home of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, which opened in November 2021.

"I'll be there to support the initiative of Dave O'Rourke and his team. The whole project - and it's not just the building - has been done with the mindset of what is best for the next 50 years," Donk said. "The building is old and obsolete and this project will be the final phase of the whole development project. It will go hand-in-hand with the new train stop and the UBS Arena. They did a tremendous job with the arena and a lot of the facade looks like Belmont Park.

"So, this is part of completing that process," Donk continued. "At the end of the day, racing is here for the long term. This is a political position where they're just trying to borrow the money and we're not asking the tax payers to pay for it. Hopefully, it goes through. I think it's a great business move to own two facilities versus three. You're going to have Belmont and Saratoga and for myself personally, as a New Yorker, there's no two better places to be."

Along with a new grandstand, ongoing development of the Belmont property includes a Tapeta pony track which opened in December and scheduled renovation of both turf courses and the main track, all overseen by Glen Kozak, NYRA's Senior Vice President, Operations and Capital Projects.

In addition to developing a world-class facility capable of hosting year-round racing and mega events like the Breeders' Cup, NYRA will continue to devote the resources, time, and attention necessary to support the backstretch community at Belmont Park. This means the construction of more new backstretch housing in the coming years than at any point in NYRA history along with unprecedented overall investments in backstretch facilities.

"At the end of the day, they could rename the place after Glen for all the work he's put in to these facilities. He's an amazing person and communicator," Donk said. "Those projects are in motion. We just need the ability to have the final plan of what to do with the building and go from there."

Horse Racing Supporters to Rally at State Capitol, Call on Lawmakers to Support Belmont Park Modernization Project

On Monday, March 13 at 11:30 a.m. ET, organized labor, small business owners, statewide business leaders, horse racing supporters, and the We Are NY Horse Racing coalition will host a rally at the State Capitol to call on lawmakers to include the project to modernize Belmont Park in the final state budget.

Who:

Organized labor

Elected officials

Small business owners

Family-owned farms

Business leaders including the Business Council of New York State and Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce

New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association

New York Thoroughbred Breeders

What: Rally to urge lawmakers to include the Belmont Park modernization project in the state budget

Where: NYS Capitol, Million Dollar Staircase

When: Monday, March 13 at 11:30 a.m. ET

RSVP: Jess D'Amelia (jdamelia@skdknick.com) or Jack Sterne (jsterne@skdknick.com)  

More information on the modernization of Belmont Park is available online.