SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There could be a little bit more Saratoga in 2025.
Among the topics that will be discussed in the coming months are adding more racing dates at Saratoga, though they would be considered part of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet. First, there could be one day added to the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival held in early June. Second, what would be considered the final week of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet (July 3-6) could be held at Saratoga prior to the official start of the Saratoga summer meet that is expected to begin July 10.
During the final week of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet, NYRA runs two Grade 1 turf stakes - the Belmont Derby for 3-year-olds and Belmont Oaks for 3-year-old fillies - as well as the John Nerud and Dwyer Stakes. In 2024, those races were held at Aqueduct in the first week of July.
“As we’re going through the racing calendar that is something we’re definitely going to take a look at,” NYRA President and CEO Dave O’Rourke said during a Sunday interview with Daily Racing Form. “I’d have a better answer for you in October. It’s being looked at. There are a lot of good races that weekend, there’s a logic to it, we still have to put that out in front of the racing committee.”
O’Rourke said adding Wednesday to the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival next June is also “on the table.”
This year, the four-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival was held June 6-9 with the Belmont Stakes being run June 8. In 2025, the Belmont Stakes will be held June 7, so a five-day race week would run from June 4-8.
“We’ll make date decisions in the fall, but that is one [possibility],” O’Rourke said.
O’Rourke added that staying in Saratoga after the Belmont Stakes weekend is completed “is not on the table,” he said. Thus, racing would move back to Aqueduct for a few weeks.
O’Rourke did say that some of the days during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival could be conducted under policies typically in place during the Saratoga meet, in part meaning that patrons would be able to bring in coolers with alcohol.
The juggling of dates all relates to the fact that Belmont Park is undergoing a complete renovation and won’t open until sometime in 2026. The grandstand has been completely torn down and foundation work for the new grandstand could begin this fall.
O’Rourke said that the renovations of the two turf courses and the Belmont main track, as well as the construction of a Tapeta track, “are ahead of schedule.”
O’Rourke said the sod for the turf courses will be laid down this fall and the Tapeta will be laid down next spring. The Tapeta track will be utilized for winter racing beginning in late 2026 or early 2027 and will also be used for races that come off the turf.
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