Racing action returns to Belmont Park

Thoroughbred racing at Belmont Park resumed April 22 and it shouldn’t be long before fans will be permitted through the gates.

Belmont’s 48-day spring/summer meet opened with Full Court Press winning the historic track’s first race of 2021, taking a one-mile dirt event in blustery conditions by two lengths with jockey Junior Alvarado aboard.

Full Court Press broke quickly and led wire-to-wire in the Maiden Claiming race with a purse of $50,000. He paid $3.60 to win as the heavy favorite. Zuzudini closed strong to finish second, and Principino was third.

It was an opening day without spectators. However, racing fans are expected to be allowed to return to Belmont soon. The spring/summer meet runs through July 11 and is anchored by the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 5.

Tickets for the 2021 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival are not yet on sale to the public. Additional information and the timing of the general on-sale will be released in the coming weeks.

“We are incredibly eager to turn the page on this pandemic and safely open Belmont Park to fans as quickly as possible,” said Dave O’Rourke, New York Racing Association (NYRA) President and CEO. “Although Belmont Park will be closed to spectators throughout Opening Weekend, NYRA looks forward to seeing fans in the stands right back where they belong this spring and summer,” he added.

In addition to the 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes, the June 5 card will include three Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” qualifiers: the one-mile Grade 1, $1 million Metropolitan for 4-year-olds and up; the Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps for older fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles on the main track [Distaff]; and the Grade 1, $400,000 Jaipur for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs on turf.

The blockbuster Belmont Stakes Day card will also feature the Grade 1, $750,000 Manhattan for 4-year-olds and up going 1 ¼ miles on turf; the Grade 1, $500,000 Acorn for 3-year-old fillies going one mile; the Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Just a Game for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up at one mile on the turf; the Grade 1, $400,000 Woody Stephens in a seven-furlong sprint over Big Sandy for 3-year-olds; and the Grade 2, $400,000 Brooklyn, a 1 ½-mile test for 4-year-olds and up.

The Stars and Stripes Racing Festival returns July 10 and features a trio of graded stakes headlined by the opening legs of NYRA's Turf Triple Series. Launched in 2019, the Turf Triple returns with a pair of races earning Grade 1 status, featuring the $1 million Belmont Derby Invitational for sophomores going 1 ¼ miles and the $700,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational for 3-year-old fillies over the same distance.

The first race post time at Belmont will generally be 1 p.m.