NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� A stroll by the paddock is a glimpse into the past before becoming a window into the future. The white pine tree that has stood there for more than two centuries remains.
Around it, everything else is brand new.
The racetrack that straddles the border of Queens and Long Island is smack in the middle of a that included knocking down the gargantuan brick grandstand and rebuilding a smaller, modern facility suited for horse racing in the 21st century. A year from now, the Belmont Stakes will return to its traditional home at Belmont Park after a three-year hiatus upstate at Saratoga Race Course to allow for the work to get done.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hugely important to get it back to Belmont,鈥� Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. 鈥淭he opening of a new facility is something that can really give the industry a shot in the arm.鈥�
Belmont Park 2.0
Aqueduct Racetrack will close to consolidate racing in New York to two locations after shiny new Belmont Park reopens on a limited basis Sept. 18. It is scheduled to be fully complete by next spring, ahead of the 159th Belmont Stakes and then the in the fall of 2027.
鈥淥nce you鈥檙e in the paddock and you get towards the building, you start to really see how it鈥檚 going to feel on a big day here,鈥� said New York Racing Association president and CEO David O鈥橰ourke, who has been with the organization since 2008.
鈥淭his consolidation was always discussed from Day 1. It was always on paper. To finally get to that point, we鈥檙e really excited.”
The Associated Press took a hard hat tour of the construction site last month, where tarps and ladders are everywhere and tools strewn about the building, which is significantly smaller than the structure that opened in 1905, was last renovated in 1968 and held 100,000 people.
Roughly 300 construction workers plus 100 more support staff have put in more than 2 million hours, installing 1,728 tons of structural steel and pouring 40,000 cubic yards of concrete.
Building for horses and people
All the perks are there, including 31 suites 鈥� the old Belmont Park had none 鈥� along with a sports bar, a giant infield video screen and all the amenities of a stadium or arena. Lone Star Park in Texas was the last new racetrack to open in the U.S., back in 1997.
鈥淭his is a modern facility,鈥� O’Rourke said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 state of the art.鈥�
That includes the racing surfaces because unlike stadiums and arenas for all-human sports, a ton of effort goes into making sure conditions are as good as possible for the horses. While the building is still a work in progress, the surfaces are done and ready: the dirt track known as 鈥淏ig Sandy,” two turf courses with grass that look straight out of European racing, and a synthetic track designed to race through the winter.
Updated technology allowed NYRA executive VP of operations and capital projects Glen Kozak and his team to install new drainage systems, along with track mats and bases designed to make the surfaces as safe as possible. Each marker pole has a robotic camera, and a 15-million gallon pond in the infield should hold enough water to irrigate without needing outside hydration.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been given the opportunity here to start from the ground up and put all best practices in place,鈥� Kozak said. 鈥淭he quality of the irrigation, the health of the grass 鈥� all those components that go into better racing and better for the horse and rider, we were able to implement here.鈥�
Back to Belmont
While the Belmont has been up at Saratoga, the third leg of the Triple Crown was shortened to 1 1/4 miles from the 鈥渢est of the champion鈥� 1 1/2-mile distance that was its hallmark. O’Rourke confirmed the plan is to go back to normal next year.
鈥淭he Belmont being a mile and a half with their big racetrack, I really kind of think that鈥檚 a unique opportunity as a lot of these horses won鈥檛 ever have to do that again in their career,鈥� said.
When the sport’s 37-year Triple Crown drought in 2015 and the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 2018, each won the final race at 1 1/2 miles in front of a huge crowd. Pletcher wondered if it would have been the same the past three years at Saratoga and is glad the future includes the traditional distance.
鈥淚t鈥檚 such a unique race, and you don鈥檛 get the opportunity to run that far very often,鈥� Pletcher said. 鈥淎nd to do it at a facility like Belmont, where it鈥檚 a once around mile and a half oval that’s, to me, the ultimate race, especially when there鈥檚 a Triple Crown on the line.鈥�
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