Belmont

The stakes schedule for the 44-day Belmont Park spring/summer meet, which will feature 59 stakes races worth $16.95 million in total purses, was announced by NYRA Friday. The meet will open on Thursday, April 28 and continue through Sunday, July 10. It will offer 12 Grade I contests and seven races with purses of $700,000 or higher, with four of those contests coming during the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from Thursday, June 9 through Saturday, June 11. Tickets for the 2022 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will go on sale...

The construction of vehicle and pedestrian tunnels that cut underneath all three racing surfaces at Belmont Park could necessitate running the 2022 autumn meeting at Aqueduct Racetrack, New York Racing Association (NYRA) executives disclosed Friday. Such a tunnel system giving greater access to Belmont's 55-acre infield could also be the first step in an eventual addition of a synthetic racing surface to Belmont. Separately, NYRA has plans to rebuild a historic clubhouse turn chute at Saratoga Race Course that will allow one-mile dirt races to be run at the Spa...

The New York Racing Association's 2021 race meets conducted at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course generated all-sources handle of $2,373,772,916 and average daily handle of $11,809,816 over 201 race days, NYRA announced Thursday. Average daily handle on the NYRA circuit has increased 21.6% since 2019, when average daily handle over 217 race days was $9,714,868. Average daily handle in 2020, which featured 157 race days, was $11,553,727. All sources handle for 2021 was $265,646,547 higher than 2019, an increase of 12.6%; and $559,837,825 higher than 2020, a...

Chad Brown won his seventh consecutive New York Racing Association, Inc. year-end training title with 140 wins while Jose Ortiz compiled his third riding crown with 185 victories as racing in 2021 was capped with the conclusion of the card on Dec. 31. Klaravich Stables retained the title as top owner, racking up 55 wins, seven more than the next-closest competitor, Michael Dubb, to finish as the leading owner for the third straight year at NYRA tracks, which include Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course and Aqueduct Racetrack. Brown compiled a...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) Wednesday added to an already daunting compilation of court documentation filed by both parties in an attempt to bolster its arguments in advance of a Jan. 6 "motion to dismiss" hearing in Bob Baffert's civil rights lawsuit against NYRA. The purpose of the Dec. 22 reply memorandum was to give NYRA "the opportunity to briefly address new arguments raised by Plaintiff in his opposition brief" and to confirm NYRA's position in relation to Baffert's civil action claim. "First, Plaintiff fails to articulate an actionable...

Chad Brown registered 29 wins to earn his 10th consecutive title at the recently concluded Belmont Park fall meet, while Irad Ortiz, Jr. won three races on closing day to pace all jockeys with 33 victories during the 31-day meet. Inflation Adjusted's win in Sunday's 10th race finale gave Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables its eighth win of the meet, which broke a three-way logjam allowing Klaravich to become leading owner of the Belmont Park fall meet for the fifth consecutive year. "I have to just thank my team, my owners...

The 31-day Belmont Park fall meet concluded with the oval's average daily handle totaling $10,346,669 from all sources and $320,746,749-a 19.7% increase from 2019--in total handle from all sources. Average daily handle at the Belmont fall meet increased over 2019, when the 37-day fall meet generated $7,430,533 in average daily handle from all sources. The 2020 Belmont fall meet, which was contested over 27 live race days, generated $9,923,813 in average daily handle from all sources, a 33.6% increase over 2019. With this year's 4.3% increase over 2020, average daily...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency RACHEL'S VALENTINA FILLY DEBUTS IN NY 4th-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 2:11 p.m. Todd Pletcher unveils the latest foal out of Grade I winner Rachel's Valentina (Bernardini) named AMBASSADOR KELLY (Pioneerof the Nile). The second and final foal out of Hall of Famer Rachel Alexandra, whose accomplishments speak for themselves, Rachel's Valentina followed up a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy debut with a win in Saratoga's GI Spinaway S. She finished second in both the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and the GI Central Bank Ashland...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency MCGAUGHEY UNVEILS PRICEY MEDAG FILLY 3rd-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo/up, 7f, 1:41 p.m. Courtlandt Farm's $700,000 KEESEP buy JOIN THE DOTS (Medaglia d'Oro) makes her career bow here for Shug McGaughey. Her dam Notacat (Distorted Humor) is a full-sister to GSW Shumoos. Her third dam is MGISW Strategic Maneuver (Cryptoclearance). TJCIS PPs   BLUE-BLOODED JUVENILES DEBUT IN NY 6th-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 3:15 p.m. West Point Thoroughbreds and Spendthrift Farm teamed up to acquire RED LINE OVERDRIVE (Nyquist) for $900,000 at the FTFMAR sale...

5th-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 2:43 p.m. ET CONQUER THE WORLD (Curlin), the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga $1.5-million co-topper, gets his career going on the lawn here. He is the first foal out of Wapi (Chi) (Scat Daddy), the 2016 champion 3-year-old filly in her native country. She brought $1.05 million from co-breeders Don Alberto Corp. and Three Chimneys Farm carrying Conquer the World at the 2017 KEENOV sale. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Conquer the World, drawn on the rail, is owned in partnership by Let's Go Stable, Aquis Farm,...

Several Breeders' Cup-bound horses breezed in New York Friday at both Belmont and Saratoga in preparation for the World Championships Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar. A few of those hailed from the Todd Pletcher barn, including GII Vosburgh S. hero Following Sea (Runhappy), who covered a half-mile in :49.73 on the Belmont training track. "I liked it," Pletcher said of the breeze. "It seemed like he bounced out of the Vosburgh very well. It was a very easy breeze for him this morning. We weren't looking to do a whole...

Trainer Chad Brown will saddle a trio of runners--led by 5-2 morning-line favorite Public Sector (GB) (Kingman {GB})--in Saturday's GII Hill Prince S. at Belmont. Second behind subsequent GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf upsetter Fire At Will (Declaration of War) in Belmont's GII Pilgrim S. last fall, the Klaravich Stables runner enters riding a hot hand off consecutive graded wins in Saratoga's GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. Aug. 6 and a one-length score over the re-opposing Never Surprised (Constitution) in the GIII Saranac S. Sept. 4....