The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the names for the New York legs of the Empire Trillium Series, a 14-race program of stakes races at Belmont Park and Woodbine Racetrack restricted to horses foaled in New York or Canada worth $3.2 million in total purses.
Nominations for the 2-year-old crop of this year to the Empire Trillium Series close Friday, June 19. Nominations can be made by contacting the NYRA Racing Office at (718) 859-2235, or by contacting Racing Secretary Rob MacLennan at rmaclennan@nyrainc.com.
The Empire Trillium Series will begin with four $200,000 events for 2-year-olds on December 26 over the new Tapeta course at the reimagined Belmont Park. Dates are tentative and subject to final approval.
Saturday, December 26
Each of the four stakes slated for December 26 are named in honor of New York-breds. The inaugural Tiz the Law, in honor of the 2020 Belmont Stakes and Travers winner for trainer Barclay Tagg and owner Sackatoga Stable, is a six-furlong sprint for juveniles, while juvenile fillies run the same distance in the Bar of Gold, named for the upset winner of the 2017 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint conditioned by John Kimmel for owners Chester and Mary Broman. The latter race was formerly the Maddie May, a one-turn mile for New York-bred sophomore fillies at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Juveniles route 1 1/16 miles on the same card's Gander, which in recent years was contested as a one-turn mile for state-bred sophomores over the Big A dirt. A graded stakes-winner with more than $1.8 million in earnings, Gander, who was originally trained by Charlie Assimakopoulos and later by John Terranova for Gatsas Thoroughbreds, was New York's Horse of the Year in 2000. Juvenile fillies will take on the same challenge in the Saratoga Dew, which was previously offered for fillies and mares at Saratoga Race Course but not contested in 2025 and honors the 1992 Eclipse Award Champion 3 Year Old Filly trained by Gary Sciacca for Charles Engel.
Saturday, January 23
The marquee events of the series at Belmont Park will be the inaugural editions of the $300,000 Long Island Derby and Long Island Oaks, over nine furlongs on Tapeta for sophomores and sophomore fillies, respectively.
Saturday, February 27
The NYRA legs of the series conclude with a pair of six-furlong $200,000 sprints on the Tapeta, including the Elmont for sophomores and the Queens Village for sophomore fillies. The Elmont, formerly the Damon Runyon offered at the Big A, is named for the hamlet where Belmont Park is located, while the Queens Village, previously the East View most recently run at Aqueduct, honors the neighborhood adjacent to the grounds of Belmont Park.
Woodbine Racetrack will then host six races for 3-year-olds and up, including four $200,000 events comprised of six-furlong sprints for both boys and girls on Tapeta during Spring 2027, followed by seven-furlong sprints on Tapeta in the same categories in July 2027. The Woodbine Racetrack-based races are headlined in June 2027 by a pair of $300,000 events, one each for older boys and girls, at one mile on the turf.
Further details regarding the Empire Trillium Series are available online.
This press release has not been edited by BloodHorse. If there are any questions please contact the organization that produced the release.
