One of horse racing’s biggest annual events is temporarily changing locations. The Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the sport’s Triple Crown, will move to Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York.
The decision had been rumored for months and was officially announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul Wednesday morning. The 2024 Belmont Stakes will be run on Saturday, June 8, as part of a four-day racing festival.
“Saratoga now adds to its storied history by hosting the third leg of the Triple Crown,” Gov. Hochul said. “It’s a win for horse racing and for the Capital Region to have the excitement and the ability to host the four-day Festival in June at America’s most historic track.”
Why is the Belmont Stakes being moved?
Belmont Park, the traditional home of the Belmont Stakes, is being renovated by way of a massive construction project. The work is part of a $455 million project approved this past summer. That construction means the track cannot house live racing, including its flagship event.
Saratoga, long renowned as one of the most important horse racing venues in the country, has long been eyed as a temporary host by the New York Racing Association. The other option would have been to run the race at Aqueduct, which houses the rest of Belmont’s traditional dates.
Local enthusiasm for the move is high, with Saratoga County officials lining up to praise Wednesday’s announcement.
“Saratoga Race Course is an engine of our local economy and a source of immense civic pride,” said local advisory board chair Joseph Torani. “This year’s Belmont Stakes Racing Festival presents the opportunity to hold a world class event outside of the traditional summer racing season, which is incredibly exciting for this community.”
What other changes are coming?
The biggest change to the Belmont Stakes comes in the form of a new distance. Saratoga’s main track cannot accommodate races run at the traditional Belmont distance of 1 1/2 miles. With that in mind, the race will be shortened to 1 1/4 miles.
Other than 2020, when the Belmont Stakes was run at 1 1/8 miles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race has been run at 1 1/2 miles every year since 1926. The race was run at Aqueduct in the mid-1960’s. That’s the last time Belmont Park was remodeled prior to the current project.
The 2024 Belmont Stakes will also see more money on the line. Its purse will increase to $2 million, up from $1.5 million in 2023. In total, the new racing festival will boast 23 stakes races offering nearly $10 million in purses.
What happens after the 2024 Belmont Stakes?
Most New York races will be run at Aqueduct while Belmont is renovated. The exceptions to that are races run at Saratoga. The upstate New York venue has traditionally held a 40-day summer meet from mid-July through Labor Day.
Construction is expected to continue at Belmont Park through 2025. Officials expect an economic impact of approximately $1 billion from the work, which supports a New York horse racing industry that provides 19,000 jobs statewide.
The timeline for the construction, however, likely means that the 2025 Belmont Stakes will need to be moved as well. No announcement on that renewal was made Wednesday. It’s safe to assume, though, that if the 2024 Belmont Stakes at Saratoga goes well, the track known affectionately as “the Spa” will once again host the race the following year.
