Belmont Finalist for Year's Top Sports Event

The 2015 Belmont Stakes presented by DraftKings (gr. I), in which American Pharoah   became a Triple Crown winner, has been chosen as a finalist for Sports Event of the Year by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal.

The first three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Belmont Park, highlighted by the 147th running of the Belmont Stakes, generated more than $165 million in total wagering and was the culmination of a year-long, organization-wide planning effort that saw unprecedented community involvement and articulated NYRA's focus on enhancing the full guest experience.

The sold-out crowd of 90,000 on Belmont Stakes day and an average of 20.6 million viewers on the NBC Sports Group broadcast not only witnessed American Pharoah's run into history but were treated to a wide range of spectacular entertainment, including trackside performances from the cast of the Jersey Boys, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point musicians, and the Goo Goo Dolls.

"We are honored to be nominated as Sports Event of the Year," NYRA president Christopher Kay said in a release. "The selection as one of the finalists validates the steps undertaken to make the 2015 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, and those for future years, a big hit with sports fans: a three-day event filled with world-class horse racing, outstanding entertainment, and unparalleled dining and hospitality. We congratulate the other nominees on their achievements."

Joining the 2015 Belmont Stakes as finalists for the Sports Event of the Year Award are Super Bowl 50, the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, and the Bojangles Southern 500. Winners will be announced live May 18 at an awards ceremony at the New York Marriott Marquis.