Belmont Child Care Association

Finding affordable quality day care is a struggle most working parents face, but for parents working on the backstretches of America's racetracks, the combination of low pay and early hours make it even more of a challenge. For years, too many backstretch parents were forced to leave their children in less-than-ideal situations or drive to work at 5 a.m. with their kids sleeping in the back of their car. But in the late 1990s, after talking to his good friend Jerry Bailey about the situation, Michael Dubb took matters into...

The Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA) celebrated the Anna House Class of 2022 graduation Tuesday at Belmont Park with 12 students from its early childhood education program for the children of backstretch workers based at Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course. The ceremony, attended by New York state and local elected officials and community leaders, marked the completion of the children's year-round pre-K program, where they were taught English, math, reading, gardening, art, nutrition and other topics in a STEAM-based curriculum. The students are now prepared to enter...

The Thoroughbred Education and Research Foundation (TERF) has awarded $100,500 in grants to 12 organizations. With the vision and mission of bettering the life of Thoroughbred, TERF primarily aims to support students in pursuit of education in Equine Medicine and to fund research efforts which better the life of the Thoroughbred horse. To fund scholarships and education, $10,000 was awarded to the Belmont Child Care Association, Inc., $2,500 to Amplify Horse Racing, $12,000 to Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, $4,000 to the MidAtlantic Horse Rescue, $5,000 to the Retired...

by Michael Dubb. Editor's note: The following letter appeared in the March 28, 2021 print editions of the Saratogian and Troy Record, and is reprinted here with their permission. While the pandemic irrevocably changed each and every one of us, perhaps no one will be impacted more significantly in the long term than our children. Mental health and education experts are just starting to reckon with the fallout of this unprecedented "lost year", which resulted in remote learning and isolation from friends and extended family. Most experts agree, however, that...

A new childcare center serving families and children of the backstretch community at Saratoga Race Course is scheduled to open in summer 2021, the Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. (BCCA) has announced. The 4,300-square-foot childcare center will be located on the Oklahoma side of the Saratoga backstretch. Funded by Michael and Lee Dubb, the facility will be named Faith's House in honor of Faith Dubb, mother of BCCA founder and board chairman Michael Dubb. Faith's House will provide child care and early education programs for infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children....

The Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. will host its online fundraiser--the week-long "Racing for the Children" virtual party--beginning Monday, Aug. 3 at 12 p.m. through Sunday, Aug. 9. The virtual format, which serves as a temporary substitute for the BCCA's annual dinner, will be hosted online at www.BelmontChildCare.org. Through the week, the website will host a series of features, including video messages from well-known racing personalities, a premium auction and recipes from Saratoga Springs restaurants. All proceeds will support the BCCA's mission to care for the children and families of...

The sale of new t-shirts with the slogans "Belmont Tough" and "Saratoga Tough" will be used to raise funds for the New York Racing Association backstretch community during the COVID-19 pandemic. NYRA will donate all net proceeds from t-shirt sales in equal allotments to three non-profit organizations which serve the Belmont Park backstretch community: the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA); the Backstretch Employee Service Team of New York (B.E.S.T.); and the New York Race Track Chaplaincy of America (NYRTCA). "The backstretch workers are the unsung heroes of our sport," said...

The Board of Directors and staff of the Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. sent out the following message Friday: "With the doors of Anna House closed, and upcoming events postponed, the BCCA staff is working remotely as we continue to be true to our mission to serve the children and the families of the backstretch. While all of these measures are necessary, they do come with financial consequences for our organization as we have a large overhead which must be maintained during this closure. We are monitoring the situation closely...

The Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA), which operates a childcare and early-childhood education facility at Belmont Park for backstretch families, needs supplies for infants and toddlers. The BCCA provides vital support to those who work in Thoroughbred racing, but Mar. 17 they closed their facility, called Anna House, consistent with Nassau County's decision to close public schools to help limit the spread of coronavirus. "Anna House has been an integral part of the community, 365 days a year, since 2003 when we opened. This is the first time we've ever...