The Belmont Stakes, the final jewel in the Triple Crown, is galloping upstate to Saratoga Springs for the next two years, and the Spa City is eager to greet an early influx of excitement, tourists, and racing enthusiasts.
The $2 million “Test of the Champion” set for June 8 is normally held at Belmont Park at Elmont, New York. Yet the storied facility is undergoing a renovation that won’t be completed until 2026. The temporary move to Saratoga Race Course, which opened in 1863, will put the quaint city known for its mineral springs, museums, and charming environment in the national spotlight.
“We’re going to be welcoming folks who have never been here before,” the president of Discover Saratoga, Darryl Leggieri, told the Sun. “We expect to welcome folks from all over the world who are experiencing our destination for the first time. We really want to make sure that we roll out the red carpet for them so they have an amazing experience so they come back and bring their friends and their families and perhaps bring a meeting or event or invest here. That’s what it’s all about.”
Saratoga Race Course is long known as one of the top racing venues in the country, attracting thousands for its thoroughbred horse racing season, which normally starts in mid-July and runs through September and is highlighted by the Travers Stakes. Hosting the 156th running of the Belmont is estimated to provide an early economic boost of $50 million for the region spanning between Albany and Lake George.
A manager at the Olde Bryan Inn, a popular restaurant about two miles from the race course, Edward Fredich, is anticipating a profitable week with plenty of Kentucky Bourbon Salmon ready for consumption. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase the town,” he told the Sun. “The community has done a great job of getting the city ready extra early for the crowds that are coming.”
What’s being called “The 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival” runs between June 6 and June 9 and includes galas, watch parties, an art festival, wine and liquor tastings, a free concert, and 23 stakes races worth more than $10 million. “We see this year’s Belmont Stakes Racing Festival as a historic opportunity to showcase the city and our county as a major event destination,” Mr. Leggieri said. “The ultimate goal is we want people to move here.”
The potential of a Triple Crown winner adds to the Belmont, but that isn’t in play this year — though the Kentucky Derby winner, Mystik Dan, and the Preakness champ, Seize the Grey, are expected to race. According to Horse Racing Nation, Sierra Leone, second by a nose to Mystik Dan in the Derby, is the early 3-1 favorite. Due to the change in tracks, the 2024 Belmont is shortened to a mile and a quarter instead of the more testing mile and a half.
Trainer Todd Pletcher ruled Fierceness out of the Belmont, saying the horse needs more rest after the Kentucky Derby favorite finished a disappointing 15th. Mystik Dan, if entered by trainer Kenny McPeek, would be the only horse to run all three legs of the Triple Crown. Seize the Grey has been on a similar schedule, having won the Pat Day Mile G2 on the undercard of the Derby at Churchill Downs. The colt trained by D. Wayne Lukas is looking for his third consecutive win.
“He actually rebounded from the Preakness better than we could have hoped,” Mr. Lukas told reporters at Saratoga. “We feel real good that we’re going to get another good effort. We should be optimistic from what we see. The mile and a quarter I always thought was a better distance anyhow. I never was a fan of the mile-and-a-half, so I definitely think that will help us.”
A new jockey will ride Sierra Leone, who skipped the Preakness. Trainer Chad Brown is replacing jockey Tyler Gaffalione with Flavien Prat. Mr. Brown missed winning his first Kentucky Derby by a nose and said Mr. Gaffalione’s handling of his whip down the stretch proved critical.
“What he didn’t do was he didn’t have his stick in his left hand like we spoke about, until the eighth pole and it cost him,” Mr. Brown said.
Mr. Gaffalione, aboard Sierra Leone for three previous races, was fined $2,500 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for touching the third-place finisher, Japan-bred Forever Young, with his left hand down the stretch to the photo-finish.
“I had a hard time keeping him straight and that definitely cost us,” Mr. Gaffalione said after the Derby.
Meanwhile, the New York Racing Association expects racing to return to Belmont Park in 2026. Demolition has begun on the outdated grandstand and clubhouse. A new 275,000-square-foot building will include modern amenities and hospitality offerings.
According to the NYRA, the new facility will generate $155 million in annual economic output and produce $10 million in new state and local taxes through racing and non-racing activities.
