It will be more than two years before racing fans hear a bugler play the “Call to the Post,” but the architectural layouts for the redesigned Belmont Park were made available on Monday.
At first glance, it will be worth the wait.
The New York Racing Association released artist’s renderings of how Belmont Park will look like when it reopens in 2026.
The 1.25 million square-foot-building and gargantuan grandstand will be replaced by a more lean and mean 275,000 square foot structure that will offer guests modern amenities and hospitality that sports fans demand, including private suites and restaurants.
The new facility, a slap shot away from UBS Arena, will seat 50,000, same as the old.
Only recently, the Belmont Stakes crowd was capped at that number, but there were more than 120,00 fans watching Birdstone win in 2004.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who granted approval to provide NYRA with a $455 million loan to construct a world-class sports and entertainment facility in Elmont, updated the project timeline and offered, “The redevelopment of Belmont Park is a critical investment in one of New York’s most historic sporting venues. The new facility will support year-round racing, thousands of new jobs for Long Islanders and provide an enhanced experience for customers attending the iconic Belmont Stakes for generations to come.”
The layout shows the new grandstand overlooking four new racecourses. Two turf/grass tracks will be covered by the main dirt course and a new synthetic surface will be inside the other three.
While Belmont has always had more space for patrons looking to picnic at the Park than NYRA’s other tracks, Saratoga and Aqueduct, the amount of available green space will grow from 6.94 acres to 36.45 due to the smaller facility.
Demolition of the current grandstand and clubhouse will begin this month and continue through July. The new Belmont will begin taking shape in 2025.
The Belmont Stakes, the “Test of the Champion,” will be run at Saratoga both this year and next, but NYRA’s plan is for the final jewel in the triple crown to be held at Belmont in 2026, prior to the full opening which is scheduled for September.
Just in time for the Breeders’ Cup Championships? Time will tell.
The Breeders’ Cup announced its commitment to add the newly improved Belmont to the venue rotation.
NYRA President and CEO David O’Rourke was pleased: “The transformation will secure the future of thoroughbred racing in New York State, create thousands of jobs and drive tourism to Long Island and the region for decades to come. We are committed to building a world class destination that will set the global standard and thank Gov. Hochul for the opportunity to completely reimagine Belmont.”
