Belmont Park Picks, Entries and Results

Belmont Park Track Details

Address: 2150 Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont, New York

Website: www.nyra.com/belmont

Meeting:  Racing at Belmont Park is divided into two meets: the Spring/Summer Meet, which runs from late April through mid-July, and the Fall Championship Meet, which runs from mid-September through late October. The track is best known for its namesake race, the Belmont Stakes, which takes place in early June and serves as the final leg of the American Triple Crown. The Belmont, otherwise known as the “Test of the Champion,” is a 1 ½-mile dirt event for 3-year-olds that is simply one lap of the massive oval. Belmont Stakes Day has become one of the premier days of racing in the country, surpassed only by the Breeders’ Cup in terms of Grade 1 events. The Fall Championship Meet has lost some steam since the advent of the Breeders’ Cup, which has partially negated its moniker, but it still doesn’t lack for premier racing. The meet is highlighted by the Jockey Club Gold Cup, which is typically supported by a bevy of Grade 1 stakes on the same card on a day formerly known as “Super Saturday.” NYRA has since split the traditional Super Saturday races into two separate race days, occurring a week apart at the end of September and beginning of October.

History: The original Belmont Park opened on May 4, 1905 and was operated by August Belmont Jr. and William Collins Whitney. The track, located just outside Queens in Elmont, NY, was unprecedented in terms of size, but it also was one of the first to be connected by rail, with its very own station on the Long Island Railroad. Belmont has three different courses, featuring a main dirt track called “Big Sandy” - both for its prominent dimensions (1 1/2 miles, the longest in the country), as well as its deep and at times fatiguing surface. Inside of main track is the Widener Turf Course, which was named after the Widener family, and inside the Widener an inner turf course with a circumference of 1 3/16 miles.

Facilities:  Belmont Park has the largest grandstand of any racetrack in the country and plenty of seats to watch the racing over the massive 1 ½-mile main track. The main structure is split between the grandstand area and the clubhouse, and there is also a spacious backyard area which contains the paddock and several picnic spots. In 2019, part of the backyard was torn up to start construction on the New York Islanders’ new arena, which will butt up against the track. Belmont has dozens of dining options throughout the facility, most notably the Garden Terrace Dining Room. The Garden Terrace offers quality food and sweeping views of the track from its perch on the fourth floor.