In recent years, one of the tools tracks have leaned into on the safety side has been postponing cards, or races, on days that see especially poor weather.
On June 7, the New York Racing Association played this card in an effort to protect horses and riders in turf races on the Belmont Stakes day undercard, as well as ensure the safe performance of its two courses—the Mellon and the inner—at Saratoga Race Course. If anyone needed a reminder that the racing industry is serious about its commitment to safety, this decision pointed to that emphasis.
Even on one of the biggest race days of the racing year—with more than $100 million expected to be wagered—safety did not take a backseat as NYRA officials moved four scheduled turf races from the grass to the dirt and postponed the two grade 1 turf races on the card to June 8.
That decision played havoc with the card, requiring the cancellation of many popular multi-race wagers centered around the stakes races late in the card. Gone were the Pick 6, the late Pick 5, and the late Pick 4, along with a number of other popular wagers. At the time the decision was made, NYRA president and CEO Dave O'Rourke thought NYRA might be down $45 million in handle for the day when compared with Belmont day 2024.
Still, NYRA went forward with the decision as big-picture concerns won the day. NYRA is well aware of the potential long-term fallout for the sport if a horse or rider were to be injured in a turf race on a surface viewed as less than safe. The decision also protected those turf surfaces going forward, with the regular Saratoga meet beginning next month.
As it would turn out, Belmont weekend actually proved to be successful on the wagering side. With the decision made, bettors actually came through with a strong day—all things considered. O'Rourke thought handle might be as low as $80 million, but, in fact, it reached $101,861,883, down just 9% compared with 2024 despite the canceled pools and loss of two of the best betting races on the card in the postponed Jaipur (G1T) and Manhattan (G1T) stakes.
Keep in mind that 2024 set a Belmont day handle record for a year without a Triple Crown on the line as bettors backed the first Belmont at Saratoga. This year's Belmont day handle surpassed the 2022 total ($98.8 million), further pointing to the relative success of the day.
And NYRA made up some of that handle. This year's Belmont Stakes Festival Friday card on June 6 enjoyed a 4.1% spike in handle—up more than $2 million to about $40.1 million—when compared to the same day a year ago. Then, with the Sunday card bulked up by the two rescheduled grade 1 turf races, NYRA saw nearly $9 million in increased handle, which spiked 23% compared with the corresponding card last year.
So Belmont day handle was down about $24 million, but the Friday and Saturday cards picked up nearly half of that as they were up a combined number of about $11 million. I suspect that if the rain hadn't arrived, this year's Belmont day handle would have surpassed last year's handle numbers, but considering the weather, it's safe to say this year's Belmont weekend did very well.
Going forward, with an expected return of the classic to Belmont Park in 2027, NYRA figures to have additional options on rainy Belmont Stakes days as an all-weather surface is part of the plan for the updated track in Elmont, N.Y. That surface could be an option for off-the-turf races, which would help keep more starters in the field after a surface change.
At the track, despite rain throughout the morning on Belmont day, this year's attendance of 46,243 wasn't far off from the attendance cap of 50,000, which was reached last year.
"If you are going to have the Belmont at Saratoga, challenging weather is part of the equation," O'Rourke said. "It wasn't looking great at 7 in the morning (on Saturday), but the sun came out. Hats off to the team. From (NYRA) communications to the racing office to the media group. They had to pivot and we had to do it succinctly and make decisions. Some of these are decisions you do not want to make, but you have to.
"We took a few races off the turf. It's regrettable, but there's potentially 50,000 people coming out for the day. It's entertainment, so we are trying to balance all those factors, and I think the group really hit the nail on the head with working with what they had. By 3 o'clock, the sun was out and everyone was having a fun time."
