New York Governor Kathy Hochul provided a project timeline and additional updates Monday on the construction of new racing facilities at Belmont Park. The New York Racing Association, which will oversee construction, also released a series of architectural renderings to bring the project's vision to life. Expected to be completed in late 2026, the multi-year project to build a new Belmont Park will generate $1 billion in construction-related economic impact and create 3,700 construction-related jobs. Following the return of thoroughbred racing to Belmont in 2026, additional racing and non-racing activities at the new facility will generate $155 million in annual economic output and produce $10 million in new state and local tax revenue per year.

“The redevelopment of Belmont Park is a critical investment in one of New York's most historic sporting venues,” said Governor Hochul. “The new facility will support year-round racing, thousands of new jobs for Long Islanders and provide an enhanced experience for customers attending the iconic Belmont Stakes for generations to come.”

The demolition of the current Belmont Park grandstand/clubhouse is expected to begin in March and continue through early July with the new building beginning to take shape in early 2025.

NYRA has developed a project plan that will allow for the Belmont S. to return to Belmont Park in June of 2026 prior to the full opening of the new building, which is scheduled for September of 2026. Although a venue for the 2026 Breeders' Cup World Championships has yet to be determined, the new Belmont Park will be complete and ready to host the 2026 Breeders' Cup should the opportunity arise. The Breeders' Cup has announced its commitment to add Belmont to the rotation of host venues following NYRA's modernization of the facility.

NYRA will also make further investments to improve the quality of life in the backstretch community, including:

–Improvements to the on-site medical facility

–Installing a modern Blue Light security system

–Upgrading the Recreation Hall and Track Kitchen facilities

–Renovating the on-site Gymnasium

–Implementing new flood mitigation strategies

–Ensuring access to reliable Wi-Fi

–Replacing fencing throughout the backstretch

–Improving multi-modal travel through constructing bicycle storage sheds

–Assess the feasibility of subsidized assistant trainer efficiency apartments

While the new Belmont Park will have the same 50,000-person capacity as the existing venue, the layout of seats, suites, and standing spaces has been adjusted to accommodate flexible seasonal attendance. The addition of a winterized building paired with new racing surfaces and a synthetic track will result in a facility suitable to host thoroughbred racing on a year-round basis. As required by the 2024 Enacted Budget, NYRA will consolidate all downstate racing and training activities at the new Belmont Park to unlock 110 acres of New York State-owned land at Aqueduct Racetrack for development opportunities.

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Tickets may be purchased here, with advance pre-sale opportunities available by signing up here.

“The 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be a four-day celebration of world class thoroughbred racing at the sport's most historic and exciting venue,” said NYRA President & CEO David O'Rourke. “NYRA is thrilled to be able to host a Triple Crown event at Saratoga Race Course, and we look forward to presenting a memorable edition of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from June 6-9.”

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Among Rondinello's leading runners was Eclipse champion 3-year-old colt Little Current (Sea-Bird) who took the last two of the three legs of the 1974 Triple Crown series after coming fifth in the GI Kentucky Derby. He also trained 1978 Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly Tempest Queen (Graustark). In training for Darby Dan Farm, Rondinello topped over $8.6m in earnings upon his retirement in 1987.

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“After an impressive career on the racetrack, we are excited about his prospects as a sire,” majority owner and New Jersey resident George Hall said.

Max Player's resume also includes wins in the 2021 GII Suburban S. and 2020 GIII Withers S. and third-place finishes in the 2020 GI Belmont S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. Max Player, a $150,000 KEESEP RNA, posted a career record of 16-4-1-2 and earnings of $1,551,266.

Annestes Farms is hosting a meet and greet for breeders on Oct. 10 between noon and 6 p.m.

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NYRA would make the temporary switch of the oldest race in the Triple Crown series to America's oldest track during a massive re-construction undertaking at Belmont Park. In mid-June, Patrick McKenna, NYRA's vice-president for communications, said that the 2025 Belmont S. might be held at Saratoga Race Course. While noting that a final decision has not been finalized, O'Rourke said Saratoga could host the race next June and again in 2025.

“With Belmont, you're looking at just under a three-year project, including demolition,” he said. “Our preferred course of action is to get moving on the abatement and the demolition early this winter. If we are successful, we will not be back to Belmont until the Belmont S. of '26.

“I won't have a definitive answer on that until a month from now, maybe a month and a half. In terms of our preferred path forward, that would be it.”

Saratoga Race Course would be a suitable host site because it can accommodate large crowds. NYRA still operates Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, but its once-massive grandstand is gone.

Moving the Belmont S. would be a huge economic boon for the city of Saratoga Springs and the Capital Region of upstate New York. The annual 40-day Saratoga meeting is a key economic driver and adding more days in June for the Belmont Stakes festival would be a very big deal in the marketplace.

Thoroughbred racing debuted in Saratoga in 1863 on an existing track on the north side of Union Avenue. The experiment launched by John Morrissey was so successful, that land was purchased across the street and a track was ready for the 1864 season. The first race held on the new grounds, where the current track is located, was the Travers Stakes, named after William Travers, the president of the racing association. For 3-year-olds, it is the most-important race of the season.

The annual Saratoga racing, season, now 40 days, is the highest-profile, most-popular meet in North America. NYRA officials said that total attendance for this year's meet, which conclude Monday, will again top 1 million.

Saratoga Race Course would be the fifth track in New York to host the Belmont S. It was first run in 1867 at Jerome Park Racetrack in the Bronx. The Belmont was staged at Morris Park in Westchester County from 1890 until Belmont Park was opened in 1905. The race was held at Aqueduct Racetrack between 1963 and 1967 when Belmont Park was being rebuilt.

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The dark bay was the first Classic winner to be retired to the farm Sept. 29, 2012, thanks to his owners, Gary Drake, and Paul and Susan Roy of Great Britain.

He upset the field of the 2002 GI Belmont S. at odds of 70-1, defeating Medaglia d'Oro (El Prado {Ire}) and Triple Crown contender War Emblem (Our Emblem).

Sarava concluded his racing career with a record of 17-3-3-0 and $773,832 in earnings and began his stud career in 2005 at Florida's division of Cloverleaf Farms before moving to the Kentucky division in 2007. In 2008, he returned to Florida to Bridlewood Farm where he remained for the rest of his stud career.

Pensioned in 2012, the then 13-year old stallion was donated to Old Friends and arrived at the farm Sept. 29, 2012.

“It's a sad day for our family and friends,” said owner Gary Drake when he heard the news. “We've all been Sarava fans since we met him in 2001. When you get into horse racing, you hope to have the opportunity to be involved with a horse like this. I mean it's cliche, but people say it all the time, they (the horses) take you places you would never go otherwise, and certainly Sarava did that for us.”

“Sarava attracted so many fans to Old Friends,” added Michael Blowen, President and founder of Old Friends. “Most recently, a horse player said he bought a condo in Ft. Myers with his winnings from that race. But, to us, he was a lot more than the longest shot in the history of the Belmont Stakes who defeated fellow Old Friends retiree, War Emblem. He was proud, independent and, in his way, very lovable. And you can't buy that… even at $142.50. We thank owner Gary Drake and friend Tom Bozarth for allowing us to care for Sarava for more than a decade.”

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He replaces Javier Castellano, who won the GI Kentucky Derby aboard the colt and also guided him to a third-place finish in the GI Preakness S. and a runner-up effort in the GI Haskell S. Saez rode Mage to a second-place finish in the GI Florida Derby. Saez opted to ride Tapit Trice (Tapit) in the Derby for trainer Todd Pletcher. Tapit Trice finished seventh.

Castellano is also the regular rider of Arcangelo (Arrogate) and won the GI Belmont S. on that colt for trainer Jena Antonucci. Like Mage, Arcangelo is being pointed to the Aug. 26 Travers.

“We have a tremendous amount of love and respect for Javier and we accomplished together what is a lifetime dream for everybody in racing,” said Mage co-owner Ramiro Restrepo. “We are fully cognizant, fully aware of the difficult decision that he was facing when it came to picking between two very talented colts, both winners of American Classic races.

“It is our understanding that there will be a full field in the Travers of 11 or 12 horses. With most of those horses, they have riders spoken for them. We know Javier was having a difficult time choosing between both horses. There's not many jockeys available as the field is starting to take shape. We didn't want to be put in a position where we were left without a top rider if Javier chose otherwise. It was in our best interest to secure a rider who knows the horse and rode him to a great second-place finish in the Florida Derby.”

Restrepo said the decision was made by the Mage camp and not by Castellano.

“We spoke with Javier a few days ago and chatted about the situation,” Restrepo said. “We asked them how they were going to proceed. Several days went by since then and Javier wasn't able to give us a decision. He said he was still mulling things over. At that point, we needed to be proactive and go ahead and make a decision.”

Earlier this week, Castellano sat down with Mike Kane to discuss the decision-making process.

For the 2023 Travers Stakes; MAGE will be ridden by Luis Saez @luissaezpty pic.twitter.com/OkKxa8PmW7

— Gustavo Delgado S (@GDS_Racing) August 8, 2023

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The gray colt was accompanied to the track by trainer Jena Antonucci on horseback and was put through his paces by Javier Castellano. Arcangelo galloped out a full half-mile after completing his move and was clocked in 1:26 1/5 for seven furlongs, 1:39 for the mile and out nine panels in 1:53.

“It was a little more serious work,” said Castellano, who faces a decision whether to stick with Arcangelo or return to Mage (Good Magic), aboard whom he won his first GI Kentucky Derby. “I usually hold him together. Today, I let him stretch out a little bit. I like the way he did it today–good fractions and a good move. The best thing for him is galloping out–he reaches out longer.

The reinsman continued, “In the turn, I asked a little bit and he took off. I just dropped my hands and let him roll. The boss wanted me to put on a good show today. I had been holding and keeping him fresh, but we are in a stage to make it serious because we are facing the best 3-year-olds in the country. You have to put a good foundation in and I think he does.”

According to Antonucci, Arcangelo wanted to do more after nearly linking up with another breezer on his gallop out.

“He swapped leads and went to go again,” said Antonucci, with a laugh. “That's a good quality for a horse to have. We finally got him pulled up over the three-eighths pole. He was kind of pleased with himself.

“He's happy and he loves it and he's enjoying it,” Antonucci added. “What better gift could I have?”

⁦@BelmontStakes⁩ winner Arcangelo (Arrogate) walking Saturday morning at trainer Jena Antonucci's barn after his morning exercise and bath. ⁦@theTDN⁩ pic.twitter.com/P99T2WWaib

— Mike Kane (@MKane49) August 5, 2023

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Antonucci and her pups Lucy and Mando completed the second leg of their drive from Ocala, Fla. to Saratoga Springs Friday morning in time to see Arcangelo gallop on the main track and frolic for a bit in the round pen near her barn before his bath. It was another quiet day on the way to the $1.25 million Travers, a race that could determine the 3-year-old male title.

After Arcangelo provided Antonucci with the biggest victory of her career, she decided to train the colt owned by Jon Ebbert's Blue Rose Farm up to the Travers. He has been in Saratoga since the beginning of July and has worked twice. The next breeze will take place in the coming week, though it not yet scheduled. Antonucci said his timed works are typically about 10 days apart.

GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) and the Belmont third-place finisher Tapit Trice (Tapit) are tuning up for the Travers Saturday in the GI Haskell S. at Monmouth Park. Preakness runner-up Blazing Sevens (Good Magic) was third behind Scotland (Good Magic) in the Curlin S. Friday at Saratoga. On July 29, Belmont runner-up Forte (Violence) is scheduled to be the headliner in the GII Jim Dandy S.

“Some fun racing coming up,” Antonucci said. “I'm looking forward to watching some good horse races.”

Arcangelo under Javier Castellano on Monday | Sarah Andrew

Antonucci said that the Travers is part of a long-range route for the gray colt that Ebbert purchased as a Keeneland September yearling for $35,000.

“Honestly, we really are hoping to have a nice 4-year-old year with him,” she said. “I know I'm getting quite a few bullets for being just very transparent about that. His owner, when he bought this horse–people laugh, but they kind of get it now–he's like 'I'm buying this horse because I want to focus on his 2024 Breeders' Cup.' And I'm like, 'Well, this horse isn't going to keep his feet on the ground until then, so we have to have another plan, too.'”

Arcangelo broke his maiden on March 18 at Gulfstream in his third career start, won the GIII Peter Pan at Belmont on May 13 and on June 10 secured Antonucci a permanent place in racing history: the first woman to win the Belmont.

Six weeks after the Belmont and five weeks from the Travers, Antonucci is pleased with how Arcangelo looks and acts.

“We're not ducking races,” she said. “It's just being patient with a horse to grow up, let him grow up. He has had his entire career spaced out. His closest races were the Peter Pan to the Belmont. It's something that he's quite used to and quite fine with. It's just giving him his breathing room. You don't need to force stuff with him.”

Antonucci said the Travers is the current focus and did not want to talk about where she might run the colt after Saratoga. She said she does not know which jockey she will give a leg up to for the Travers since Javier Castellano won the Derby with Mage and the Belmont on Arcangelo.

“It's nothing I can control,” she said. “The rider thing is going to work out. Someone will hang on to him. I just feel that in life you can't stress about things that you can't control. I can't control that. We'll continue to do us and it will work out. It always does.”

Antonucci has been around horses and racing throughout her life and saddled her first starter in 2010. She has been racing at Saratoga since 2012. Winning the Belmont with Arcangelo boosted her profile this summer. She smiled and acknowledged that things have been different since that victory.

“If you would have scripted, 'You're going to be the first woman to win the Belmont Stakes. And when you win that this is what it means,' It still doesn't cover the layering of how it's reached past our sport, and what it means to people,” she said. “That part, I'm extremely grateful for an immense amount of gratitude from people that give that to us, and finally, looked at our sport, maybe that is not like the worst thing on the planet.

“The other part that was interesting is just kind of how so many horsemen have actually been extremely gracious, which is in a sport where we tend to eat each other alive.”

Antonucci said she has enjoyed the countless kind words from people in and out of racing, but said the Belmont success was about the horse, not her.

“I can't do this without all of us, without that horse, and I am extremely aware of that,” she said. “So, it is his story that I happen to hang on to his tail for. It will continue to be his story and his owner's story. My job is to steward that. I understand logically that, but it's his journey that I'm trying to stay out of the way of.”

Arcangelo has settled in well at Saratoga, Antonucci said, and enjoys his time in the round pen, where can roll in the dirt, and the opportunity to be out of his stall.

“He loves it here,” she said. “He was here last summer, so this was probably just homecoming for him really. Our routine is very straightforward and boring, as far as every day. He does [the round pen] a couple times a day. I love being over here because you can go for big, long walks and that suits this horse, always has.

“He really has really taken all the attention well, where he thinks it's kind of cool. He knows where cameras are. He knows where people are.  You'll see him just identify it. That's a part that you can't teach them. They either have that or they don't. They either fold from it or thrive in it. I'm super grateful that he's thriving. It makes my life a little easier.”

Noting that Arcangelo is a mid-May foal, Antonucci said since he has grown since the Belmont it makes sense not to push him this summer.

“He's precocious and has speed,” she said. “Obviously, Arrogate was extremely precocious with a high cruising speed, so I feel very blessed that he has that. I think when you are managing those things, you look at it eyes wide open. You have a horse that's showing a lot of talent that has a lot of speed and he's still a young, maturing frame. We would be absolutely stupid to go in the well, 100 times on him and not let him find his space and grow up and keep putting it all together.

“I give Jon a ton of credit on this. He has been absolutely 'Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Wait. We're fine. We'll take our time. Nope. Okay.'  My job is to lay out the options. Here's X road maps. Here's how we're going to get to each one of these. It's just giving this horse the space that he needs, right? It works in our favor to have a cool horse the rest of this year and hopefully into next year.”

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Originally scheduled for 40 days of live racing, NYRA was forced to cancel two cards due to poor air quality caused by wildfires in Canada. All-sources handle for the 38-day spring/summer meet totaled $560,363,986, which compares to $591,250,409 in 2022 when the meet was contested over 44 days.

The blockbuster June 10 Belmont Stakes Day card, highlighted by Arcangelo's (Arrogate) victory in the 155th running of the GI Belmont S., generated all-sources handle of $118,283,455, a NYRA record for a non-Triple Crown year.

Average field size for the 368 races run during the 2023 spring/summer meet was 7.60, a 3.4 percent increase over 2022 when average field size was 7.35. Of the 368 races held during the spring/summer meet, 187 were on the main track and 181 on the turf while 14 races were forced off the turf due to rain.

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