NYRA Announces 48-Day Belmont Park Meet Schedule

The New York Racing Association announced the stakes schedule for a 48-day Belmont Park spring/summer meet Feb. 8, which features 59 total stakes races worth $18.4 million, to commence April 26 and run through July 7.

The meet is highlighted by the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from June 6-8 that will encompass 18 stakes, including eight grade 1 events, featuring the 151st running of the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes (G1) June 8.

The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival opens with three stakes races June 6, including a pair of grade 3 turf events—the Intercontinental for older fillies and mares and the Wonder Again for 3-year-old fillies. The next day will offer four graded stakes, led by the $600,000 New York Stakes (G2T) for older fillies and mares going 1 1/4 miles on the turf.

Belmont Stakes Day will feature nine graded stakes, including eight grade 1s. The $1.2 million Runhappy Metropolitan (G1), the $700,000 Ogden Phipps (G1), and the $400,000 Jaipur on the turf, and recently upgraded to grade 1 status, are "Win and You're In" qualifiers for the Breeders' Cup in November at Santa Anita Park.

Rounding out the top-level races is the $1 million Woodford Reserve Manhattan (G1T) for 4-year-olds and up on the turf, the $700,000 Acorn (G1) for 3-year-old fillies, the $700,000 Longines Just a Game (G1T) for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up on the turf, and the upgraded $400,000 Woody Stephens (G1) for 3-year-old sprinters. The packed card will lead up to the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of racing's famed Triple Crown, contested at 1 1/2 miles in the "Test of the Champion."

The Man o' War Racing Festival set for May 11 boasts five stakes, including four graded events, led by the $700,000 Man o' War (G1T) at 1 3/8 miles on the turf for 4-year-olds and upward.

The action-packed card is also highlighted by the $300,000 Peter Pan (G3), a local prep for the Belmont Stakes for sophomores at 1 1/8 miles. Rounding out the day's stakes are a pair of grade 3 contests for fillies and mares with the $200,000 Beaugay at 1 1/16 miles on the grass and the $200,000 Vagrancy for sprinters, and the $150,000 Runhappy Stakes for sprinters 4-years-old and up.

The spotlight will shine on New York-breds May 27, as part of Big Apple Showcase Day. The lucrative Memorial Day card features six stakes worth $900,000 for horses bred in the Empire State, led by the $200,000 Commentator at a mile for 3-year-olds and up and the $200,000 Critical Eye at the same distance for fillies and mares, 3-years-old and up. Also featured on the Big Apple Showcase Day card are a quartet of $125,000 stakes for New York-breds: the Kingston, Mount Vernon, Mike Lee, and Bouwerie.

In 2019, the Stars & Stripes Racing Festival will be contested over three days (July 4-6). Five graded stakes will be offered on the Belmont spring/summer meet's penultimate day.

The packed card will include the $1 million Belmont Derby Invitational (G1T) for 3-year-olds going 1 1/4 miles on the turf and the $750,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1T) over the same surface and distance, as well as the $250,000 Dwyer (G3) for 3-year-olds.

The docket will also include the $700,000 Suburban (G2) for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/4 miles and the renamed $300,000 John A. Nerud, (G2), formerly the Belmont Sprint Championship, a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972, Nerud, who trained such legends of the sport as Dr. Fager and Gallant Man, was a founding member of the Breeders' Cup, serving as chairman of the Breeders' Cup marketing committee in its early years. The longtime trainer, president, and general manager for William L. McKnight's Tartan Farms passed away in 2015 at the age of 102.

Opening Day will kick off the meet's stakes action with the $100,000 Affirmed Success for New York-breds. The graded stakes action will commence May 4 with the $200,000 Sheepshead Bay (G2T), the $200,000 Westchester (G3), and the $150,000 Fort Marcy (G3T).

Closing Day will bring the curtain down on the meet with the $100,000 State Dinner before the racing action moves to Saratoga Race Course for the July 11 opening card.

2019 Belmont Spring/Summer Schedule