Training in NY Resumes June 9; Belmont Park to Race

With air quality dramatically improved in New York, training resumed at Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park June 9, and at 8 a.m. ET Friday, officials announced racing would take place as scheduled at Belmont in the afternoon. 

Among the horses to train Friday at Belmont included numerous entrants in the June 10 Belmont Stakes (G1), the third leg of the Triple Crown and Belmont's most-attended race.

The New York Racing Association canceled training and racing at Belmont June 8 due to poor air quality after smoke from Canadian wildfires descended upon the northeast, blanketing some American cities in a haze, in addition to others in Canada. Other North American tracks canceled racing June 7 and more followed Thursday, including Woodbine in Canada, Penn National Race Course, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, and Delaware Park. 

Officials monitor the Air Quality Index as published at airnow.gov to guide decisions about training and racing. At 7:45 a.m. ET Friday, the AQI in Elmont, N.Y., where Belmont is located, registered a 57, a figure roughly a third of the reading the prior morning and falling into the "moderate" category.

Protocols announced by New York officials Thursday trigger restrictions on training and racing when AQI indexes fall between 150 and 200, and the cancellation of training and racing when above 200.

Thursday morning at 10 a.m. the AQI in Elmont, N.Y., where Belmont is located, registered 155, a figure deemed "unhealthy" on that scale. It was a "very unhealthy" 209 in parts of neighboring New York City at the same time. Both figures were down from peak levels on Wednesday in the region. Wind flow and other factors can impact the AQI. Friday-morning wind patterns took the worst of the smoke to other regions, including above the Atlantic Ocean.

NYRA said in a release Friday morning that it would continue to actively monitor air quality conditions and forecasts to ensure the environment remains safe for racing participants and fans this week.

In addition to the improving air-quality conditions in New York, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course in Maryland reopened for training and racing Friday.

Woodbine, located near Toronto, also announced the resumption of racing Friday, noting air-quality indexes in that region were in the moderate-risk category.