Fast Start to Fantastic Fall Meet at Belmont
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Racing returned to Belmont Park on Saturday and blogger Joan Lawrence was there to enjoy opening day (Photos courtesy of Joan Lawrence).
Saturday, Sept. 7, marked the official start of Belmont Park’s Fall Championship meet. The simple greeting delivered daily by track announcer Tom Durkin – “Welcome to beautiful Belmont Park” – sums up the genial atmosphere.
Standing inside the Clubhouse entrance, the view of the walking ring is spectacular:
The magnificent Oak tree shading the paddock along with the beautiful statue of Secretariat, in all its glory, to admire:
Saturday’s feature race was the Bowling Green Handicap for 3-year-olds and older at a mile and quarter on the turf. A field of six contested the Grade 2 event with Boisterous, a Shug McGaughey trainee, the morning-line favorite. Boisterous, looking as though he could win the race, got stuck along the hedge running out of time to catch Hyper, a Chad Brown runner for Ken and Sarah Ramsey – the winningest owners of the recently concluded Saratoga meet. Nice way to start off a new meet for Ken and Sarah!
One race in particular I really enjoyed watching was the seventh, a seven-furlong race for maiden 2-year-old fillies. For no other reason and for which I am not ashamed to admit, I was rooting for the regally bred and good-looking Bikini Beauty, a Bernardini filly trained by Christophe Clement. She did not disappoint. Congratulations Bikini Beauty.
I hope you’ll come out and visit this beautiful racetrack and catch some of the best racing to be had during Belmont’s fall meet, one of the most anticipated times of the year for Thoroughbred racing.
The season is highlighted with two Super Saturdays – Sept. 28, Jockey Club Gold Cup Day, and Oct. 5, when the 2-year-olds will be showcased in the Champagne and Frizette Stakes.
See you there!