Belmont Park opens Friday

With world-class Thoroughbred racing and a host of new

activities and old favorites planned for the spring and summer, Belmont Park is

the place to be starting opening day Friday.

The 145th running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes

on June 8 is the glittering centerpiece of Belmont Park's 56-day

spring/summer meet, which runs through July 14. The oldest and longest leg of

racing's elusive Triple Crown, the 1 1/2-mile Belmont will be supported by four

additional graded stakes.

The Belmont Stakes Festival begins June 1

with Elmont's Belmont Stakes Parade kicking off a week of community events that

includes the Belmont Stakes Blue Ribbon Run for Prostate Cancer on June 2, a

special Triple Crown Q&A with New York jockeys Ramon Dominguez and

Richard Migliore on the evening of June 4 at the Elmont Library, the Garden City

Belmont Festival on June 7 and the Floral Park Belmont Festival on June 9.

NYRA will give away a magnetized version of the Belmont

spring/summer stakes schedule on April 27, and host the first of 11

Family Fun Days on April 28. The 84th running of

the Grade 3, $150,000 Westchester kicks off the exciting stakes action on April

27. A traditional prep for the Grade 1, $750,000 Metropolitan Handicap on Memorial

Day, May 27, the Westchester is the first of Belmont's 26 graded stakes worth $8.1

million.

On May 5, NYRA will host a Cinco de Mayo party in

the backyard featuring Mariachi Loco de NY. May 11 marks the beginning

of an indoor farmers' market at Belmont which will be held weekly on Saturdays

throughout the meet (except Belmont Stakes Day) on the first floor of the

grandstand.

Memorial Day weekend signals the start of the Grade 1

season with a trio of top races on May 27 -- the Met Mile, the $400,000

Ogden Phipps for fillies and mares and the $300,000 Acorn for three-year-old

fillies. Rounding out the graded stakes action is the Grade 2, $300,000 Sands

Point for three-year-old turf fillies.

In addition to world-class racing, Belmont Park will host

its first ever

Food Truck Festival on May 25. Fans will be able to purchase

diverse and delectable items from 10 of New York's finest food trucks, including

MacTruckNYC, TacoBite, Chinese Mirch and more. The backyard will be home to

Family Fun Days on Sunday and Monday, with the Memorial Day edition featuring

games and races, inflatable gladiator joust, and a petting zoo.

"Party at the Park" returns for five Fridays beginning June

14 with a special first race post time of 3 p.m. (EDT) and a party that includes food

and drink specials along with a live concert following the conclusion of live

racing. Billy Joel tribute band Michael DelGuidice and Big Shot kicks off the

action on June 14, followed by Bon Jovi tribute band Bad Medicine on June 21 and

'80s tribute band Decadia on June 28. Noche de Latina is set for July 5 featuring

New York Latin rock band Seguida, while The LP's will close out the "Party at

the Park" series on July 12.

From start to finish, family activities abound, including

the popular "Breakfast at Belmont" program weekend mornings from 7-9:30 a.m.

and Family Fun Days on Sundays, except for Belmont

Stakes weekend.

The Long Island Rail Road's "Belmont Special" will run from

Penn Station to Belmont Park at 10:58 a.m. and 11:41 a.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays

and Fridays, and 10:58 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. on weekends and holidays, effective

April 27 through May 13. Return service will be approximately 30 minutes after

the last race, with an additional train at 3:42 p.m. weekdays and 4:27 p.m.

weekends, effective April 26 through May 19.

First race post time is 12:50 p.m. from April 26-28.

Beginning May 1, post time moves to 1:05 p.m. except for "Party at the Park" (3

p.m.) and Belmont Stakes Day (11:35 am). Live racing is generally conducted

Wednesday through Sunday. Belmont Park will be open on Memorial Day, Monday, May

27, with no live racing on Tuesday and Wednesday that week. Belmont Park will

also be closed for live racing on June 9 and July 10.

Except for Belmont Stakes Day, general grandstand admission

and admission to the Belmont Café simulcast area is $3, clubhouse admission is

$5, and general parking is free.

The opening day feature is the $85,000

Trippi, a

seven-furlong dash for three-year-olds. Among the field of six are stakes

winners Purple Egg, Rubysandpearls and Whiskey Romeo.

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