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53-661: Inaugurated at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track at Gravesend, New York , it was held there until 1913. At that time, the race was the richest stakes for three-year-olds in the United States. It was run as the Realization Stakes until 1899, when it was renamed to honor James G. K. Lawrence, president of the Coney Island Jockey Club (which owned the racetrack). Lawrence was also responsible for creating of

106-467: A circumference of 1 + 3 ⁄ 16 miles (1.9 km) plus 103 feet (31 m). On the Main Track, it is 1,097 feet (334 m) from the top of the stretch to the finish line, and the segment between the wire and the start of the first (clubhouse) turn covers 843 feet (257 m); this latter segment is shorter by approximately 165 feet (50 m) on both of the turf courses, in order to accommodate

159-488: A nearly year-round race track when the New York Racing Association lease for all three of New York State's tracks expired at the end of 2007. Belmont's stands would have been heated, additional barns built for Aqueduct's 400 horses, and the track modified to accommodate winter racing. In addition, video lottery machines would have been introduced. A new entity would have operated Belmont from fall to spring while

212-443: A record attendance of 120,139 was on hand to see if Smarty Jones would be the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. American Pharoah won the 2015 Belmont Stakes on June 6, and became the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. It was announced before the race that attendance would be capped at 90,000. That year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness both set attendance records, over 170,000 and 130,000 respectively. In addition to

265-666: A third version of Belmont Park is expected to open in 2026. Operated by the New York Racing Association (NYRA), Belmont Park is typically open for racing from late April through mid-July (known as the Spring meet), and again from mid-September through late October (the Fall meet). The race park's main dirt track has earned the nickname, "the Big Sandy", given its prominent overall dimensions ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.4 km)) and

318-474: A world record for 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.4 km) on dirt, a world record which still stands. The 31-length victory clinched the first Triple Crown in 25 years, dating back to Citation in 1948 . A statue of Secretariat is in the center of the Belmont paddock. Another Belmont Stakes achievement is recognized by the "Woody's Corner" display that was located in the first-floor clubhouse lobby, commemorating

371-513: Is 1 mile (1.6 km) in circumference and abuts the east end of the main track. In March 2009, lights were added to the training track as a safety measure to prevent early morning workouts from occurring in the dark. The racetrack, grandstand, training, and barn facilities are located entirely in the community of Elmont in Nassau County, New York . According to the City of New York's own map portal,

424-584: Is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York , just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes , the final leg of the American Triple Crown . It was opened on May 4, 1905, and is one of the best well known racetracks in the United States. The original structure was demolished in 1963, and a second facility opened in 1968. The second structure was demolished in 2023, and

477-688: The Astor Cup Race and the Harkness Trophy Race . The Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation ran into financial difficulties following the death of its majority shareholder Harry Harkness in January 1919. The property was sold in 1923 for residential real estate development . No trace of the racetrack can be found today. Other defunct New York race tracks: 40°35′32″N 73°56′50″W  /  40.59222°N 73.94722°W  / 40.59222; -73.94722 Belmont Park Belmont Park

530-671: The Belmont Derby , Belmont Oaks , Manhattan Handicap , Just A Game Handicap , Bowling Green Handicap , Man O' War Stakes , Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes and the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational . Belmont's Fall Championship meet includes New York Showcase Day in late October, with seven stakes races for New York-bred horses. The richest race on that program is the $ 250,000 Empire Classic Handicap . Other memorable performances in Belmont Park history include

583-519: The Futurity Stakes in 1888. The stakes were later run at Belmont Park on Long Island as a Grade II race on the dirt. The race continued to be run there (except for the Belmont Park redevelopment period from 1962 to 1968) until it was removed from the calendar in 2005 by the New York Racing Association (NYRA) as a cost-cutting measure. For 70 years, the Lawrence Realization was one of

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636-679: The Long Island Rail Road station on the property, the ramp between the grandstand and the train station, and some of the adjoining parking fields straddle the Queens County line. Belmont Park has direct on- and off-ramps to the Cross Island Parkway , which runs north–south and is just to the west of the park. Belmont Park's physical address is given as 2150 Hempstead Turnpike ( New York State Route 24 ). The Belmont Park property originally totaled some 650 acres (260 ha). After

689-742: The Main Track and nicknamed "Big Sandy" by racing followers, has a circumference of 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.4 km), the longest dirt thoroughbred racetrack in North America. Immediately inside of this is the Widener Turf Course (named after the Widener family that has a long and prestigious history in American horse racing) spanning 1 + 5 ⁄ 16 miles (2.1 km) plus 27 feet (8.2 m), which in turn encircles an Inner Turf Course with

742-427: The 1956 season, the construction of a wider bus road beyond the main course's final turn forced the turn to be shortened. According to the Belmont publication commemorating the track's 1968 reopening, that move cut 96 feet (29 m) off its circumference. The current layout has the entire racing course inside Nassau County. The Belmont Stakes was named after financier and sportsman August Belmont Sr. , who helped fund

795-399: The 1970s and 1980s, included a dramatic come-from-behind win by Forego in the 1976 installment. Officials of the New York Racing Association made a concerted effort to boost attendance on Belmont Stakes Day after the 1995 installment drew only 37,171. The 2000 and 2001 Belmonts—both run when there was no Triple Crown on the line—drew announced crowds of 67,810 and 73,857. In 2004 ,

848-522: The 2024 demolition. The Belmont Stakes races have been run at Belmont Park since 1905, with the exceptions of 1911–12, when gambling was banned in New York State; the 1963–67 editions, held at Aqueduct while the grandstands at Belmont Park were reconstructed; and the 2024 edition, which was held at Saratoga Race Course due to the second reconstruction of Belmont Park. Secretariat 's finishing time in his 1973 Belmont victory (2 minutes, 24 seconds) set

901-828: The Belmont Stakes, other major races held at Belmont have included the Jockey Club Gold Cup , the Suburban Handicap and the Memorial Day standby—the Metropolitan Handicap , also known as the "Met Mile." An important race for fillies, the Acorn Stakes , which is the first leg of the US Triple Tiara , is raced at the track year. All of the above races are contested on dirt; notable turf (grass) races include

954-463: The Hempstead Plains – aviation . Some 150,000 people were drawn to the track on October 30, 1910, at the climax of a Wright Brothers -staged International Aviation Meet at Belmont Park , which had started eight years earlier. The event came at the beginning of a period from 1910 to 1912 in which racing was outlawed in New York State. Eight years later, Belmont and aviation were reunited when

1007-718: The Islanders project had won approval to be built. In July 2019, the plan was adopted by the Empire State Development Corporation board, and UBS Arena opened in time for the 2021-22 NHL season . The plan also included a new Elmont station on the LIRR, in addition to the hotel, arena, and retail village. In May 2007, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer considered closing Aqueduct Racetrack located ten miles west of Belmont in Ozone Park, New York , and turning Belmont into

1060-515: The New York Racing Association would continue to operate Saratoga Race Course in the summer. Spitzer was forced to resign amid a prostitution scandal in March 2008 and no further plans for Belmont were developed at that time. In December 2022, the New York Racing Association formally announced its intention to upgrade the facilities at Belmont to make it suitable to host year-round thoroughbred racing and training. Unlike Churchill and Pimlico , neither

1113-622: The Sheepshead Bay Race Track and it was ultimately sold to the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation who used it for automobile racing. In December 1919, what the Daily Racing Form called one of the most famous racetracks in the history of the American turf, was purchased for real estate development . The facility was torn down and the land subdivided into building lots . Stakes race titles Ŧ One of

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1166-596: The Sheepshead Bay track was intense competition. In a summary of 1909 racing, the Daily Racing Form reported that "Sheepshead Bay, which for years led the country in daily average distribution, yielded first place in 1909 to Belmont Park, which August Belmont and his associates are ambitious to make the "turf headquarters of America"." A 1910 amendment to the Hart–Agnew legislation added further restrictions that made

1219-458: The closure of nearby Aqueduct Racetrack . The 430-acre (170 ha) racing, training and barn complex is located on the western edge of the Nassau County region known as the Hempstead Plains. Just a few miles (kilometers) east on the same plains, the first racing meet in North America was held in 1665, supervised by colonial governor Richard Nicolls. The dirt racecourse, known officially as

1272-553: The deep, sometimes tiring surface. Belmont is also sometimes known as "The Championship Track" because almost every major champion in racing history since the early 20th century has competed on the racecourse – including all of the Triple Crown winners. Belmont hosted its largest crowd at the 2004 Belmont Stakes , when 120,139 spectators saw Smarty Jones upset by Birdstone in his Triple Crown bid. August Belmont Jr. and William Collins Whitney , along with other investors, built

1325-476: The first nor second iterations of Belmont Park allowed spectators into the infield. An infield tunnel connecting to the backstretch parking lot has been completed. Beginning in April 2023 construction of a one-mile synthetic racing oval inside the inner turf course had begun. The next phase of reconstruction, scheduled to begin after the 2023 spring and summer meet, includes completion of the synthetic track, widening of

1378-589: The five consecutive Belmont Stakes winners trained by Woody Stephens from 1982 to 1986. The racetrack was also the site of Affirmed 's epic stretch duel with Alydar in the 1978 Belmont Stakes , a victory that gave Affirmed the Triple Crown; and Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew 's defeat of Affirmed in the Marlboro Cup in September of that same year. The Marlboro, a key event of the Fall Championship meets in

1431-436: The inner turf course, and construction of a second infield tunnel near the first turn. NYRA released a statement on May 1, 2023, announcing that state funding for the grandstand reconstruction and other projects had been secured by way of a $ 455 million loan. To accommodate construction, NYRA moved the Belmont fall meet to Aqueduct in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The 2024 Belmont Stakes were moved to Saratoga Race Course , due to

1484-597: The land into their own stadiums. The Islanders proposed an 18,000 seat sports arena , 435,000 square feet (40,400 m ) for retail development, a 225-room hotel, and a 10,000 sq ft (930 m ) community center, while NYCFC's pledge included a 26,000 seat soccer ground, 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m ) for retail, a 5.2-acre (2.1 ha) community park, and 2-acre (0.81 ha) soccer complex: both proposals were fully privately funded and included improved parking and LIRR facilities as well. On December 20, 2017, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that

1537-410: The most prestigious annual events in the American horse racing calendar. Only two horses contested the race in 1918, 1920, 1944, and 1946; however, due to the large number of entries in 1976 and 1985 it was run in two divisions. The race was contested over several distances: On September 4, 1920, Man o' War won the 1 + 5 ⁄ 8 -mile (2.6 km) Lawrence Realization by 100 lengths over

1590-434: The new Sheepshead Bay track hosted a 1½ mile match race between two of the top horses racing at the time in the United States. The Dwyer Brothers' Luke Blackburn was ridden by Jim McLaughlin , and Pierre Lorillard's Uncas was ridden by Tom Costello . Luke Blackburn won by twenty lengths. Sheepshead Bay had both a dirt and a turf course. Principal backers were: The new Sheepshead Bay Race Track's premier event

1643-571: The new race course was completed. On June 19, 1880 the track hosted its first day of Thoroughbred racing . Old maps and railroad track diagrams for the Manhattan Beach Branch of the Long Island Rail Road showing the spur that served both the club and the racetrack indicates the entrance to the club was located on the east side of Ocean Avenue between Avenues X and Y. The Sheepshead Bay Race Track station contained six tracks and three island platforms . In its first year of operations,

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1696-402: The only other runner, Hoodwink. His time for the race was 2 min 40 + 4 ⁄ 5 s, which broke the world record for the distance by 1 + 3 ⁄ 5 seconds and was his fifth record-setting performance that year. The great Kelso tied the record in 1960. * † In 1919, Over There finished first but was disqualified. Sheepshead Bay Race Track The Sheepshead Bay Race Track

1749-575: The opening of the track in 1905 with the famous dead heat between Sysonby and Race King in the Met Cap . In 1923, Belmont Park was host to an international duel between the American and English champions: Zev , winner of the Kentucky Derby , against Papyrus, winner of The Derby . Zev won by five lengths in front of an estimated crowd of 70,000. Belmont Park was the site of the tragedy-marred victory of Foolish Pleasure over champion filly Ruffian in

1802-610: The original Belmont Park remain today. The first is the display of four stone pillars on Hempstead Turnpike , a gift from the mayor and park commissioners of Charleston, South Carolina . The pillars had stood at the entrance of the Washington Course of the South Carolina Jockey Club in Charleston, which operated from 1792 to 1882. The stone pillars are now found at the clubhouse entrance. Lesser known but more visible are

1855-402: The original Belmont race track, which opened on May 4, 1905. Arthur Underhill was hired as Engineer and Landscape Architect to design and oversee construction of the park. In its first 15 or so years, Belmont Park featured racing clockwise, in the "English fashion"—allowing the upper-class members of the racing association and their guests to have the races finish in front of the clubhouse, just to

1908-485: The owners and directors of a racetrack personally liable for any betting done on their premises, with or without their consent. Such an onerous liability was intolerable and meant that by 1911 all racetracks in the state ceased operations. Although a February 21, 1913 ruling by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division paved the way for racing to resume that year, by then it was too late for horse racing at

1961-448: The race, and most sources say the racetrack itself was also named for him. The race was first run in 1867 at Jerome Park Racetrack in the Bronx. In 1937, the wrought iron gates that bore an illustration of that first Belmont Stakes were donated to Belmont Park by August Belmont II's sole surviving son, Perry Belmont. The gates were located on the fourth floor of Belmont Park's clubhouse until

2014-512: The racetrack served as the northern point of the first U.S. air mail route, between the New York area and Washington, D.C. The following spring, NYRA Chairman James Cox Brady announced that two separate engineering surveys found the grandstand/clubhouse was unsafe due to age-induced structural defects and needed to be rebuilt. The book Belmont Park: A Century of Champions noted the comment of NYRA President Edward T. Dickinson: "When you sighted down

2067-518: The racing motif iron railings seen partially bordering the walking ring. The railings, used as decoration on the south side of the old Belmont grandstand, were salvaged during the 1963 demolition. The original Belmont Park was not only unprecedented in its size but also had the then-new innovation of a Long Island Rail Road extension from the Queens Village station, running along the property, tunneling under Hempstead Turnpike , then terminating on

2120-449: The renovations, and the 2025 Belmont Stakes are planned for Saratoga as well. As of July 2024, the second Belmont Park is completely demolished with reconstruction planned until September 2026. The new grandstand, when finished, would likely result in the track hosting the Breeders' Cup for the first time since 2005. Ultimately, sometime in late 2026, the project will ultimately lead to

2173-681: The second Belmont Park was held on July 9, 2023. Demolition on the second Belmont Park began in March 2024 and was completed in June 2024. In July 2017, New York State officials announced that vacant parking lots behind the Belmont grandstand had been put to tender for two area top-level professional sports teams: the New York Islanders , an NHL ice hockey team; and New York City FC , an MLS soccer team. Both teams were unhappy with their current locations (the Islanders at Barclays Center ; New York City FC at Yankee Stadium ) and proposed to redevelop

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2226-472: The south side of the property. The train terminal was moved to its present location north of the turnpike after the 1956 season. Near the railroad terminal was yet another track—Belmont Park Terminal, a steeplechase course operated by United Hunts until 1927. The last race at the old Belmont Park was run in October 1962. In addition to racing history, Belmont Park made history in another industry native to

2279-672: The stands, you could see some of the beams were twisted. They were in something of an S-shape." The old structure was demolished in 1963, along with the Manice Mansion, the turreted 19th-century homestead that served as the headquarters of Belmont's Turf and Field Club. The new grandstand was built from 1964 to 1968. The Inner Turf Course was also added during this time period. The Belmont race meetings were moved to Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park , Queens from 1963 to 1968. The $ 30.7 million grandstand, designed by Arthur Froehlich ,

2332-519: The three Sheepshead Bay Autumn Serials. In 1959, the Sheepshead Bay Handicap was named in honor of the old racetrack, and first run at the now-defunct Jamaica Race Course in Jamaica, New York . It, too, is currently held at Belmont Park. The new owner converted the horse track to a board automobile race track . Several auto races were held from October 1915, through September 1919, including

2385-463: The track, like you would deal cards". A later innovation was created by Joseph E. Widener , who took over track leadership when August Belmont II died in 1924: the Widener Chute. It was a straightaway of just under 7 furlongs (1.4 km) that cut diagonally through Belmont's training and main tracks, hitting near the quarter-pole of the main track; the course was removed in 1958. Two features of

2438-438: The training track, permitting races of up to a mile and a quarter but was shortened because a crossover is now infeasible given the clay base of the Main Track and stone-dust base of the training track. Before the 1990 Breeders' Cup, the outer rail of the Main Track was moved back to widen the middle of the clubhouse turn and soften the angle of the start of the 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (2.0 km) Classic . The training track

2491-614: The two chutes that exist on the Widener Turf Course, from which turf races of 1 mile (1.6 km) and 1 + 1 ⁄ 16 miles (1.7 km) are started; an additional chute exists for races of 1 + 1 ⁄ 16 miles (1.7 km) on the Inner Turf Course. A straightaway chute leads on to the backstretch of the Main Track and permits races on the dirt up to 1 + 1 ⁄ 8 miles (1.8 km) long to be run with one turn. The chute used to extend further back across

2544-407: The west of the grandstand. A "field stand," at what was then the top of the stretch, was located east of the grandstand. The original finish line was located at the top of the present-day homestretch. In his 1925 book, "The Big Town", Ring W. Lardner refers to the then-recent directional change when he has a character at Belmont say (speaking of a recent race) "At that time, they run the wrong way of

2597-700: Was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn , New York. The racetrack was built by a group of prominent businessmen from the New York City area who formed the Coney Island Jockey Club in 1879. Led by Leonard Jerome , James R. Keene , and the track's president, William Kissam Vanderbilt , the Club held seasonal race cards at nearby Prospect Park fairgrounds until construction of

2650-477: Was contested at a distance of a mile and an eighth and was won by Emory & Cotton's Dry Monopole in a time of 157.00. In 1908, the administration of Governor Charles Evans Hughes signed into law the Hart–Agnew bill that effectively banned all racetrack betting in the state of New York . The legislation allowed for fines and up to a year in prison which was strictly enforced. Compounding matters for

2703-416: Was named for James G. K. Lawrence. On June 10, 1886 the Coney Island Jockey Club opened the first turf racecourse in the United States. The Club replaced the Sheepshead Bay steeplechase course with a one-mile turf course, built inside the existing main dirt track. The Green Grass Stakes was the first race on turf and was run as part of the June 10 opening day program. A race for three-year-old horses, it

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2756-489: Was opened May 20, 1968, and was the largest in Thoroughbred racing. It had a total attendance capacity of more than 100,000, including a seating capacity of 33,000 and an adjoining backyard being able to accommodate more than 10,000. A long mural by Pierre Bellocq on the second floor of the clubhouse featuring the dominant jockeys, trainers and racing personalities celebrates the track's history. The final day of racing at

2809-642: Was the Suburban Handicap , first run on June 10, 1884 and conceived by James G. K. Lawrence, who became the track's president. Four years later Lawrence would also create the Futurity Stakes , first run on Labor Day in 1888. At the time, the Futurity was the richest race ever run in the United States. Today, both the Suburban and the Futurity are ongoing Graded stakes races held at the Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont on Long Island . The Lawrence Realization Stakes

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