A $455 million remake of Belmont Park is, in its fledgling months, on schedule and costs are proceeding as planned to the point where New York Racing Association executives expressed confidence racing will return to the historic oval in Elmont, N.Y., by September 2026—in time to host that year's Breeders' Cup that NYRA has been eager to bring back to New York.
Belmont Park has hosted the Breeders' Cup four times, but not since 2005. The two-day Breeders' Cup will be hosted by Del Mar in 2024-25.
A top NYRA official Wednesday floated to a state regulatory panel that the racing corporation is examining holding a "modified" Belmont Stakes—shifted this year to Saratoga Race Course during the massive Belmont project—in 2026.
Glen Kozak, NYRA's executive vice president of operations and capital projects, did not provide any details to the New York State Franchise Oversight Board during a 50-minute meeting Oct. 9, but said NYRA wants to, at the moment, "keep that option open" to hold the final leg of the Triple Crown at Belmont in 2026 if it can be done "in a manner that's appropriate."
"That would be a heck of a dry run for the Breeders' Cup,'' responded Robert Williams, who heads the state oversight agency that monitors NYRA's finances, including the construction developments at Belmont.
NYRA and state officials have expressed confidence the Breeders' Cup could return to New York State at the remade Belmont in November 2026. Holding future Breeders' Cup events at Belmont was one of the talking points by NYRA and its supporters in 2023 for why New York State should loan NYRA $455 million for the major makeover of Belmont, which will include a new grandstand and clubhouse as well as new dirt and turf tracks, and a new all-weather synthetic track, which will be the exclusive track used for future winter racing meets at Belmont.
NYRA officials, who previously said the project would be done before the 2026 Breeders' Cup after the meeting, said a 2026 racing timetable is still being discussed.
"NYRA has developed a project plan that will allow the Belmont Stakes to return to Belmont Park in 2026 prior to the full completion of the new facility. NYRA will provide an update at the appropriate time should that change,'' NYRA spokesman Patrick McKenna said in a statement after NYRA executives met with state officials Wednesday.
The state's loan to NYRA was approved last year as part of the government's annual budget process. The deal also requires that racing will end at Aqueduct Racetrack in nearby Queens, N.Y., when the Belmont project is complete. That sets the stage for the state-owned Aqueduct to be redeveloped into an undetermined project on a valuable parcel in the borough.
The Wednesday meeting with NYRA executives, as well as representatives of AECOM Tishman, the general contractor for the Belmont project, was billed as an "informational" gathering to brief members of the Franchise Oversight Board, whose panel members include representatives of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the leaders of the Democrat-controlled Senate and Assembly.
The state Aug. 1 disbursed $70 million to NYRA, the first proceeds of the loan, of which NYRA has so far spent $20 million on work including designs and recently completed demolition of the grandstand and clubhouse that began in April. NYRA had previously shared a construction timetable with the state, such as interior work starting in October 2025 and taking 218 days to complete in various phases.
Fall racing is scheduled to start at the rebuilt Belmont Sept. 11, 2026.
"Yes, sir,'' John Krush, the NYRA project executive on Belmont, responded when Williams asked if the overall Belmont project was on target.
Krush and AECOM Tishman's Mike Goldberg walked the state panel through the various steps involved in the project, including the construction of a new and smaller clubhouse and grandstand that had been the face of Belmont for decades before recently razed. The new 275,000-square-foot facility, with various modern touches and things like a rooftop terrace, will seat 10,000 fans. The demolished facility totaled some 1.25 million square feet. The new Belmont plan includes the opening of the infield.
The endeavor includes thousands of details, from lining up a sod agreement for two turf tracks—a process already completed with a Long Island company—to negotiating with the host of trade unions already involved or set to be a part of the project down the road. A series of questions were asked of NYRA and AECOM Tishman officials about guarantees to include businesses that are minority, women, or service-disabled/veteran-owned firms; NYRA and its representatives said those hiring goals would be attained.
NYRA also pointed to community meetings already held to keep property owners informed about the project's development and get word out to everyone from nearby deli owners to construction firms about the work.
The oversight panel got updates from NYRA about dorm construction work at Belmont, new stormwater management work, and upgrades to internet and fire alarm protection systems in the facilities that house 830 backstretch workers at Belmont.
NYRA's Kozak said work on various tunnels, such as those used for transporting horses and pedestrians, have been completed, and the project includes some 16 miles of piping for two future turf courses, new rails for the tracks, and plans to open sometime during the second quarter of next year on a one-mile synthetic track for training.
"We're on schedule with the tracks,'' Kozak said of such work that includes putting down growing medium in November for sod to start to be installed.
NYRA has recycled materials, including concrete and steel, on-site during the demolition, which officials say reduced truck traffic and emissions in the area.
Construction of the new facility is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year.
