Tuesday, February 22 2011

BELMONT STAKES TO AIR ON NBC SPORTS

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the NBC Sports Group have announced a five-year deal to air the Belmont Stakes.

“We are thrilled to return our premier race to NBC Sports,” said NYRA Chairman C. Steven Duncker. “They have done a terrific job covering horse racing, including their Kentucky Derby and the Preakness broadcasts over the prior decade. With an excellent production team that has pioneered innovative camera angles, and a tremendous group of on-air talent that offers unique insights into the races, NBC Sports will be a great partner for the Belmont Stakes.”

Friday, October 01 2010

BLAME, PADDY O’PRADO ARRIVE FOR SUPER SATURDAY ENGAGEMENTS

ELMONT, N.Y. – Blame and Paddy O’Prado, morning-line favorites in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational, respectively, arrived at Belmont Park shortly after 1 p.m. Friday afternoon for their Super Saturday stakes engagements.

The horses were originally scheduled to fly into New York from Kentucky on Thursday, but their flight was delayed a day due to inclement weather across the Northeast. Departing from Lexington at approximately 10 a.m., their plane arrived at Islip MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, NY, where they boarded a van to Belmont Park. Bearpath, another contender in the Turf Classic, also made the trip.

Thursday, September 30 2010

GODOLPHIN’S GIROLAMO GOES FOR GRADE 1 GLORY IN VOSBURGH

ELMONT, N.Y. – Belmont Park’s $350,000 Vosburgh Invitational is the first of five Grade 1 races on “Super Saturday,” with Godolphin Stable’s Girolamo heading a talented field of nine sprinters all vying for their first Grade 1 win.

The 4-year-old A. P. Indy colt will be making just his second start of the year in the six-furlong Vosburgh, having finished fifth in his 2010 debut in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga Race Course on September 4.

Tuesday, September 07 2010

NYRA OFFERS $300,000 GUARANTEED LATE PICK FOUR SATURDAYS AT BELMONT

ELMONT, N.Y. -- The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has announced that it will offer a $300,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 Saturdays at Belmont Park during the 2010 Fall Championship Meet. The first Guaranteed Late Pick 4 of the meet will be offered on Saturday, September 11.

Although NYRA offers daily Pick 4’s on races 2-5 and the final four races of the day, the $300,000 guarantee applies only to the Late Pick 4 on Saturdays. The Late Pick 4 is a $1 minimum wager in which the bettor must correctly pick the winners of the last four races on the card, usually beginning with race 7 on Belmont Saturdays.

Wednesday, June 30 2010

I WANT REVENGE MAKES RETURN IN SUBURBAN

ELMONT, N.Y. – After resounding victories in the Grade 3 Gotham and the Grade 1 Wood Memorial last year at Aqueduct Racetrack, I Want Revenge appeared poised on the brink of stardom as the solid favorite for the Kentucky Derby.

Only hours before the Derby, however, it was discovered he had an ankle injury, and instead, I Want Revenge became the first morning-line favorite to be scratched on the day of the race. The injury then turned out to be more serious that anyone initially suspected, and few thought I Want Revenge would ever return to the races after undergoing surgery to repair the damaged ligament in his right front ankle.

Monday, June 21 2010

BELMONT PARK NOTES: Sunday, June 20, 2010

ELMONT, N.Y. – It was a busy Father’s Day morning for trainer Todd Pletcher at Belmont Park, highlighted by half-mile breezes from stable stars Quality Road and Super Saver.

In his first move since stretching his 2010 record to a perfect 3-for-3 in Memorial Day’s Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, Quality Road covered the four furlongs in an easy 50.26 after the break, while Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver went the same distance in 50.66, both over the main track.

Saturday, June 19 2010

“PARTY AT THE PARK” DRAWS CROWD, BOOSTS FRIDAY HANDLE AT BELMONT PARK

ELMONT, N.Y. – A crowd of 7,921 wagered $1,036,894 Friday afternoon at Belmont’s “Party at the Park,” marking the Spring/Summer Meet’s twilight racing card a resounding success.

An additional $370,293 was wagered at Belmont on incoming simulcasts, bringing the total on-track handle to $1,407,187, compared to $962,375 for June 19, 2009, the corresponding “Party at the Park” date on last year’s calendar, a 46 percent increase.

Friday, June 18 2010

BELMONT PARK NOTES: Friday, June 18, 2010

OCEANPORT, N.J. * Eric Fein’s C C’s Pal, dropping back from graded stakes into allowance company for the first time since January, gained command at the top of the stretch and drew off to score by a length and a half in Monmouth’s $82,000 feature race on Friday.

The winner, trained by Derek Ryan and ridden by Eibar Coa, raced the mile and a sixteenth in 1:46 4/5 over a fast main track and paid $8.20, $4.60 and $3.80 across the board as second choice in the field of seven fillies and mares.

BELMONT PARK NOTES: Friday, June 18, 2010

ELMONT, N.Y. – Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver is scheduled to return to the Belmont Park work tab Sunday, along with Met Mile hero Quality Road, trainer Todd Pletcher said this morning.

Both will go a half-mile, said the trainer.

Wednesday, June 16 2010

GOZZIP GIRL TALK OF THE TOWN IN NEW YORK

ELMONT, N.Y. – Gozzip Girl heads a contentious field of seven fillies and mares in Saturday’s 67th renewal of the Grade 2, $150,000 New York, run at 1¼ miles over Belmont Park’s Inner Turf course.

Owned by Farnsworth Stables and trained by Tom Albertrani, Gozzip Girl broke her maiden at second-asking over the turf course at Aqueduct in November of her 2-year-old season and rapidly evolved into a sophomore turf standout, winning the Coconut Grove Stakes and Grade 3 Herecomesthebride on the grass at Gulfstream Park last winter. In her first Grade 1 start, the Ashland run over Keeneland’s Polytrack on April 4, 2009, the late-running Dynaformer filly missed by just a neck.

Friday, June 11 2010

BELMONT PARK NOTES: Friday, June 11, 2010

ELMONT, N.Y. – Last summer at Saratoga Race Course, Godolphin Racing won four Grade 1 races, including the Test with Flashing, the Ballerina with Music Note, the Go for Wand with Seventh Street and the Forego with Pyro.

The fillies have since been retired, but the stable is gearing up for another busy summer with multiple Grade 1 winner Vineyard Haven, Grade 1 Top Flight winner Sara Louise, and Grade 2 Louisiana Super Derby winner Regal Ransom, among others.

Saturday, June 05 2010

DROSSELMEYER WINS BELMONT STAKES; MOTT EARNS FIRST CLASSIC WIN

ELMONT, N.Y. – Drosselmeyer grabbed the lead in the middle of the stretch and went onto a three-quarter-length victory over a fast-closing Fly Down on Saturday afternoon at Belmont Park to take the 142nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes in a 13-1 upset.

The win gave Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith their first victories in the 1½-mile “Test of the Champion,” while owner WinStar Farm now owns two Triple Crown wins this year, having taken the Kentucky Derby in May with Super Saver.