Tag: Triple Crown

Belmont Stakes Racing Festival Tickets Go On Sale Thursday

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced that a limited number of tickets for the 2021 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will go on sale to the public on Thursday, May 6 starting at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.com.

Headlined by the 153rd running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 5, the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival kicks off on Thursday, June 3 and will include 17 stakes races in total with eight Grade 1 races to be contested on Belmont Stakes Day.

NYRA will offer advance pre-sale opportunities to 2020 Belmont Stakes ticket buyers, along with NYRA Bets Elite, Preferred and Bronze members, beginning on Wednesday, May 5. Eligible groups will be notified via email.

Beginning May 19, New York State will expand capacity at outdoor sports and entertainment venues to 33 percent of capacity. With required mandatory assigned seating and social distancing in place, Belmont Park is able to host approximately 11,000 ticketed spectators.

Accordingly, available ticket inventory is currently limited to reserved seats and hospitality areas. There will be no general admission tickets made available at this time. Additional ticket inventory will be released should capacity limits increase prior to the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

In accordance with current New York State requirements, all ticketed spectators must submit proof of completed vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result in order to enter Belmont Park.

For additional information on health and safety protocols in effect for the 2021 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, please visit: https://www.belmontstakes.com/tickets/know-before-you-go.

To reduce entry time, NYRA encourages all ticketed spectators who have been vaccinated or tested in New York State to retrieve secure proof using the New York State Excelsior Pass. To retrieve an Excelsior Pass, attendees can download the free NYS Excelsior Pass Wallet app onto their smartphone, available on the App Store and the Google Play Store, and follow the on-screen prompts.

Alternatively, attendees can also retrieve and print out a Pass through the Excelsior Pass Online Portal to bring to the event. Use of Excelsior Pass is free and voluntary. Attendees also have the option to provide their Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination card or lab results from a recent test upon entry. For more information on retrieving Excelsior Pass for out-of-state visitors, approved vaccinations, or approved tests visit the Excelsior Pass FAQs.

All tickets must be purchased in advance. In order to enter Belmont Park, tickets must be presented digitally via a mobile device through Ticketmaster.com or the NYRA Account Manager. For additional details, please view NYRA's digital ticket guide.

The 2021 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will mark the return of the Belmont Stakes to its customary spot on the racing calendar and its famed distance of 1 1/2-miles. In 2020, a readjustment to the stakes schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic saw the “Test of the Champion” run at a one-turn, 1 1/8 miles as the opening leg of the Triple Crown series for the first time in history.

The Belmont Stakes is an American tradition inaugurated in 1867 at Jerome Park Racetrack and moved in 1905 to its familiar home at Belmont Park. The final jewel of the Triple Crown series has showcased many of history's greatest thoroughbreds over 152 editions of the American classic.

The Belmont Stakes has been won by Hall of Famers from Sir Barton, Man o' War and Native Dancer to Secretariat, Affirmed and Easy Goer. That only 13 horses in history have achieved Triple Crown glory by winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes attests to its mystique as one of the rarest accomplishments in all of sports.

Two of those Triple Crown triumphs have come in the last six years with American Pharoah ending a 37-year Triple Crown drought in 2015 and Justify capping a perfect 6-for-6 career with a Triple Crown-clinching effort in 2018.

For additional information and details on hospitality offerings, ticket packages and pricing, visit BelmontStakes.com. For full terms and conditions, visit https://www.belmontstakes.com/tickets.

The post Belmont Stakes Racing Festival Tickets Go On Sale Thursday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Cox Confirms Essential Quality Will Skip Preakness, Point To Belmont Stakes

Reigning champion trainer Brad Cox told Steve Byk this morning that Kentucky Derby fourth-place finisher Essential Quality will not return in the Preakness Stakes, but would instead come back in five weeks for the Belmont.

The 3-year-old son of Tapit was undefeated prior to his run on the first Saturday in May, winning the G1 Breeders' Futurity, G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, G3 Southwest Stakes, and G2 Blue Grass. He endured a challenging trip at the start of the Kentucky Derby, rushed up into contention prior to the clubhouse turn, and ran on well to finish fourth, beaten just a length by the winner, Medina Spirit.

Final decisions have yet to be made for Cox's other two Preakness potentials, Derby runner-up Mandaloun and G1 Arkansas Derby runner-up Caddo River.

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NBC’s Kentucky Derby Coverage Draws More Viewers Than All Awards Shows

NBC Sports' presentation of the 147th Kentucky Derby averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 14.5 million viewers as the “Run for the Roses” returned to its traditional first Saturday in May date – marking a 54 percent increase from last year's event (9.4 million on Sept. 5), according to official national data provided by Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

Viewership peaked at 15.7 million viewers from 6:45-7 p.m. ET on NBC as Medina Spirit mounted a wire-to-wire victory and trainer Bob Baffert won the event for a record seventh time.

The TV-only average audience of 14.4 million viewers topped all entertainment awards shows for the first time ever and marked NBC's most watched broadcast since the NFL Divisional Playoffs in January.

NBC Sports Digital's presentation of the Kentucky Derby delivered a record Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 139,300 viewers for the event via the NBC Sports app and NBCSports.com.

The NBC-TV household rating for the broadcast (6:31-7:18 p.m. ET) was a 7.1/22.

146TH PREAKNESS STAKES ON NBC SPORTS, MAY 15: In two weeks, Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit attempts the next step in his Triple Crown quest. NBC Sports' coverage of The 146th Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Md., begins Friday, May 14 at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN. NBC presents The Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 15 at 5 p.m. ET, with coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

PREAKNESS STAKES COVERAGE
Date Time Event Network
Fri., May 14 5 p.m. Black-Eyed Susan Stakes NBCSN
Sat., May 15 2 p.m. Preakness Saturday NBCSN
Sat., May 15 5 p.m. Preakness Stakes NBC

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR 2021 KENTUCKY DERBY (Race Portion)

1. Louisville 28.7/59
2. Ft. Myers 18.2/36
3. Knoxville 16.2/30
4. West Palm Beach 15.5/35
5. Cincinnati 15.1/36
6. Cleveland 14.9/35
7. Detroit 14.0/32
8. Providence 13.3/31
T9. Indianapolis 13.1/32
T9. Buffalo 13.1/29

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Medina Spirit Rises To No. 1 On NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll; Malathaat Jumps To Fifth

Following his stirring half-length victory in Saturday's Grade 1 147th Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit, has risen to No. 1 in this week's National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll.

Sent away at 12-1, Medina Spirit, a Florida-bred son of Protonico, gave Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh Kentucky Derby win and a fourth Derby victory for Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. Medina Spirit, seventh in last week's poll, received 34 first-place votes and 374 points to take over the top spot from Godolphin's 2020 2-year-old champion Essential Quality, who finished fourth as the 5-2 Derby favorite. Trained by Brad Cox, the previously unbeaten Essential Quality, who led the Top 3-Year Old Poll since the first week on Feb. 16, is now in second place, with two first-place votes and 315 points.

The Cox-trained Mandaloun, who finished second in the Derby by a half-length, moves from 12th to third place this week. Owned by Juddmonte, Mandaloun has 284 points. Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, Strauss Bros Racing and Gainesway Thoroughbreds' Hot Rod Charlie, third in the Derby, drops back one position to fourth place with 266 points for trainer Doug O'Neill.

Shadwell Stable's bay filly, Malathaat, zooms from 20th to fifth place following her dramatic win by a neck over Search Results in the Grade 1 147th Longines Kentucky Oaks last Friday. The undefeated Malathaat, trained by Todd Pletcher, has one first-place vote and 179 points.

Gary and Mary West's homebred Concert Tour, winner of the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn, rises from eighth to sixth place in the poll. Also trained by Baffert, Concert Tour has 95 points. A third Baffert-trained runner in the top 10 is WinStar Farm and CHC's Life is Good, who improved from ninth to seventh place. Off the Triple Crown trail due to injury, Life is Good has one first-place vote and 94 points.

Another major mover this week was Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior, who captured Saturday's Grade 2 Pat Day Mile presented by LG&E and KU. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Jackie's Warrior goes from 31st to eighth place, garnering 82 points. Hronis Racing and Talla Racing's Rock Your World, drops from second to 9th place this week after a 17th-place finish in the Derby while being compromised at the start. Trained by John Sadler, Rock Your World has 69 points. Maintaining 10th place is another Asmussen-trained colt, Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon, who finished sixth in the Derby and has 65 points.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Group 1 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide, Group 1 Saudi Cup runner-up Charlatan, and reigning older dirt female champion Monomoy Girl again hold down the top three positions in this week's National Thoroughbred Poll. Trained by Mike Stidham, Mystic Guide received 31 first-place votes and 350 points. The Baffert-trained 4-year-old Charlatan has six first-place votes and 322 points. The 6-year-old mare Monomoy Girl, trained by Cox, is in third place with 229 points.

Robert and Lawana Low's 4-year-old Colonel Liam (199 points), who finished in a dead heat for first with Domestic Spending in Saturday's Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs, is now in fourth place, exchanging positions with Korea Racing Authority's Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup winner Knicks Go (184 points).

Michael Lund Peterson's Eclipse Award-winning female sprinter Gamine (161 points), rises from seventh to sixth place after winning Saturday's Grade 1 Derby City Distaff presented by Kendall-Jackson Winery at Churchill Downs. St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska (141 points), who defeated Monomoy Girl in Oaklawn's Grade 1 Apple Blossom on April 17, is now in seventh place.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield re-enters the top 10, moving from 12th to eighth place with one first-place vote and 133 points after taking last Friday's Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes presented by Sentient Jet at Churchill Downs. The Cox-trained 4-year-old filly Shedaresthedevil (84 points), winner of Churchill's Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes presented by TwinSpires, jumps from 14th to ninth place. Competing the Top 10 is Klaravich Stable's 4-year-old Domestic Spending (55 points), who climbs to 10th from 56th place in last week's poll off the dead heat with Colonel Liam.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in the Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll concludes following the Belmont Stakes on June 5 and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through Nov. 6.

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