Legendary Horse Race Moves to This New York Race Track

The Belmont Stakes is running at a new racetrack in 2024.

One of the biggest horse races of the year lands in New York every year as the third leg of the horse racing Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes runs at Belmont Park on Long Island, NY. Most years the historic weekend of horse racing puts the spotlight of the horse racing world on New York and in certain years the "Stakes" is the race where a triple crown horse can be crowned.

2024 Belmont Stakes Moves to Different Track

The 156th Belmont Stakes is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 8th, 2024 and for only the second time in its celebrated history will run at another track besides Belmont Park. The race was moved to Aqueduct Racetrack from 1963-1967 and for the first time ever will run at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, NY in 2024. New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced this week that the Belmont Stakes is moving up north to allow for the uninterrupted construction of a new and re-imagined Belmont Park saying,

"As part of the exciting modernization of Belmont Park, Saratoga now adds to its storied history by hosting the 3rd leg of the Triple Crown"

2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival

This year's four-day racing festival will kick off Thursday, June 6, and continue through Sunday, June 9th. The festival will include 23 stakes races in total with purses totaling $9.7 million, which will be the highest purse levels and number of stakes offered since the launch of the multi-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival in 2014 according to the Governor's press release.

"It’s a win for horseracing 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. As I said during the 2023 Saratoga Meet, ‘Let’s do it.'"

 

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2024 Belmont Stakes Race Changes

The main event Belmont Stakes will take place on Saturday, June 8th, and offer jockeys and horse owners the chance to win part of a $2 million purse according to the New York Racing Association. The $2 million purse in 2024 is $500,000 more than in years past and is the first significant increase since 2014. The race will also be contested at 1 1/4 miles in 2024 rather than the traditional 1 1/2 miles due to the configuration of Saratoga’s main track, pending the approval of the North American Graded Stakes Committee.

Hotel offerings, ticket packages and pricing for the 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course haven't been released yet but are expected to be released in early 2024.