NEW YORK — They’re off and running at the new Belmont Park, where horse racing has returned after a three-year absence for a $550 million reconstruction project that modernized the historic track in the Nassau County hamlet of Elmont.
Fans in the sellout crowd of 6,000 cheered before a field of 10 left the starting gate just after 1:30 p.m. Friday at the home of the Belmont Stakes, which annually serves as third leg of the Triple Crown. Lisa Joy, a filly ridden by jockey Antonio Fresu, won the first race there since July 9, 2023.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be part of this historic track and historic reopening of Belmont Park,” Fresu said afterward. “They seem to be doing a tremendous job. The track is fantastic. The grandstand looks fantastic, all the facilities, so I’m really, really happy to be part of it.”
The new facility is futuristic and white, a departure from the massive brick grandstand that occupied the space from 1968 until its demolition. Before a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the expanded paddock area, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called it the start of a whole new era of horse racing in the Empire State, which in addition to having Belmont Park on the border of Queens and Long Island boasts venerable Saratoga Race Course upstate.
“With the new Belmont Park, New York enters into a league of its own,” Hochul said. “All eyes of the racing world are on this place. Everybody’s paying attention to what we’re unveiling here.”