2020 Belmont Stakes: June 20, 1 1/8miles, $1M, no fans

       ELMONT, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced that live racing, to be conducted without spectators, will return on Wednesday, June 3, at Belmont Park.

       Following the five-day opening week, live racing throughout the 25-day Belmont spring/summer meet will be conducted Thursday through Sunday, with a first post time of 1:15 p.m. Eastern. The spring/summer meet will conclude on Sunday, July 12.

        A condensed stakes schedule for the spring/summer meet will feature 40 total stakes races worth $7 million, including 22 graded stakes, beginning on Opening Day June 3 with the Grade 3, $100,000 Beaugay at 1 1/16-miles on the turf for fillies and mares, 4-years-old and up.

        The 152nd renewal of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes will take place on Saturday, June 20, as the first leg of the Triple Crown series, a historic first for the crown jewel of thoroughbred racing. Traditionally run at 1 1/2-miles, this year’s edition of the Belmont Stakes will be contested at nine furlongs and broadcast live on NBC, the exclusive broadcast partner of the Belmont Stakes and Triple Crown.

       “The resumption of live racing at Belmont Park on June 3, with all appropriate health and safety protocols in place, will support the hundreds of small businesses, family-owned farms and thousands of hourly workers who form the backbone of thoroughbred racing in New York,” said NYRA President & CEO Dave O’Rourke. “The return of live sports, especially New York institutions like the Belmont Stakes, is a welcome sign of progress that will bring some sense of normalcy back to our everyday lives.”

        The Belmont spring/summer meet, originally scheduled for 51 days from April 24 through July 12, will offer at least one stakes race each day and is bolstered by nine Grade 1 races and four Breeders’ Cup Win & You’re In qualifiers.

       Absent from the stakes schedule are the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational and the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, the opening legs of the Turf Triple Series implemented by NYRA last year as the turf equivalent of the Triple Crown series. The Turf Triple Series will be run in 2020 and an announcement regarding dates will be made in the coming weeks.

       Ten $80,000 overnight stakes races, along with eight stakes restricted to New York-bred horses worth a combined $800,000, will support local horsemen as part of a condition book to be available later today.

        NYRA has made necessary adjustments to the purse structure to account for the absence of VLT monies as a result of continued statewide casino closures.

        “Without the casino operating and without on-track attendance, we’ve had to make significant purse cuts. The purse cuts to the stakes schedule are much more dramatic than the overnight schedule and we’ve tried to help the everyday horsemen as much as possible through these trying times by writing a rich and varied condition book, offering a daily opportunity for black type, that will support horsemen at all levels of the game,” said Martin Panza, NYRA’s Senior Vice President of Racing Operations.

       The Grade 1, $250,000 Runhappy Carter Handicap, a seven-furlong sprint for 4-year-olds and upward originally scheduled for April 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack, will kick off the first of five consecutive Saturdays of Grade 1 races at Belmont Park. The Carter will replace the Grade 2 John A. Nerud as a qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

      The lucrative June 6 card will also include the Grade 2, $150,000 Fort Marcy at 1 1/8-miles on the turf for older horses; the Grade 3, $100,000 Westchester at 1 1/16-miles for 4-year-olds and up; and the Grade 3, $100,000 Intercontinental, a seven-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares, 4-years-old and up.

       On Saturday, June 13, the Grade 1, $300,000 Ogden Phipps for older fillies and mares going 1 1/16-miles on the main track will offer a berth to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

       Belmont Stakes Day June 20 will feature six graded races including four Grade 1 events led by the historic Belmont Stakes, which will offer 150-60-30-15 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

       Rounding out the Grade 1 entertainment on Belmont Stakes Day are the $300,000 Acorn for 3-year-old fillies going one mile; the $250,000 Woody Stephens presented by Claiborne Farm, a seven-furlong sprint over Big Sandy for 3-year-olds; and the $250,000 Jaipur, presented by America’s Best Racing, for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs on turf, which offers a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. A pair of one-mile turf races for sophomores, previously contested at nine furlongs, completes a stakes-laden card with the Grade 2, $150,000 Pennine Ridge and the Grade 3, $150,000 Wonder Again for fillies.

        The Grade 1 action continues at beautiful Belmont Park on Saturday, June 27, with four graded events led by the Grade 1 $300,000 Just a Game for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up at one mile on the turf. The card is bolstered by the Grade 2, $250,000 New York at 10 furlongs on the turf for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up; the Grade 2, $150,000 True North, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 4-year-olds and up; and the Grade 3, $100,000 Vagrancy, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares.

       The one-mile Grade 1, $500,000 Runhappy Metropolitan now open to 3-year-olds and up, offers a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, to headline an Independence Day card offering five graded stakes on Saturday, July 4. Also featured is the Grade 1, $400,000 Manhattan for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/4-miles on turf; the Grade 2, $200,000 Suburban, a 10-furlong test for 4-year-olds and upward; the Grade 3, $150,000 Poker, a one-mile turf test for older horses; and the Grade 3, $100,000 Victory Ride, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies.

       Closing weekend of the Belmont spring/summer meet will include the Grade 2, $150,000 Ruffian at one mile for fillies and mares, 4-years-old and up on Saturday, July 11 and the $80,000 River Memories, a 1 1/2-mile stamina test on the turf for older fillies and mares, on Sunday, July 12, before live racing shifts to Saratoga Race Course for the 40-day summer meet scheduled to run from Thursday, July 16 through Labor Day, September 7.

       All Belmont Stakes Racing Festival (BSRF) tickets are subject to full refunds. Fans who purchased directly from the NYRA Box Office or a NYRA sales representative are asked to complete this web form to request a refund or account credit. Fans who purchased BSRF tickets through Ticketmaster will receive an email directing them to log in to their Ticketmaster account to request a refund or credit.

       For more information, please visit BelmontStakes.com.

DATE	RACE	GRADE	2020 PURSE	AGE	DISTANCE
Wed., June 3	Beaugay	III	100,000	F&M 4&UP	1 1/16 (Turf)
Thurs., June 4	Tiller		80,000	4&UP	1 3/8 (Turf)
Fri., June 5	Harmony Lodge		80,000	F&M 4&UP	6 Furlongs
Sat., June 6	Runhappy Carter Hdcp. (BC)	I	250,000	3&UP	7 Furlongs
Sat., June 6	Fort Marcy	II	150,000	4&UP	1 1/8 (Turf)
Sat., June 6	Westchester	III	100,000	4&UP	1   1/16
Sat., June 6	Intercontinental	III	100,000	F&M 4&UP	7 Furlongs (Turf)
Sun., June 7	First Defence		80,000	4&UP	7 Furlongs (Turf)
Thurs., June 11	Flat Out		80,000	4&UP	1 3/8
Fri., June 12	Commentator Hdcp. (NYB)		125,000	3&UP	1 Mile
Sat., June 13	Ogden Phipps (BC)	I	300,000	F&M 4&UP	1   1/16
Sun., June 14	Mike Lee (NYB)		100,000	3YO	7 Furlongs
Thurs., June 18	Critical Eye Hdcp. (NYB)		125,000	F&M 3&UP	1 Mile
Fri., June 19	Sir Cat		80,000	3YO	6 Furlongs (Turf)
Sat., June 20	Belmont Stakes	I	1,000,000	3YO	1 1/8
Sat., June 20	Acorn	I	300,000	F3YO	1 Mile
Sat., June 20	Jaipur (BC) “Presented by America’s Best Racing”	I	250,000	3&UP	6 Furlongs (Turf)
Sat., June 20	Woody Stephens “Presented by Claiborne Farm”	I	250,000	3YO	7 Furlongs
Sat., June 20	Pennine Ridge	II	150,000	3YO	1 Mile (Turf)
Sat., June 20	Wonder Again	III	150,000	F3YO	1 Mile (Turf)
Sun., June 21	Lady Shipman		80,000	F3YO	6 Furlongs (Turf)
Thurs., June 25	Easy Goer		80,000	3YO	1   1/16
Fri., June 26	Hessonite (NYB)		75,000	F&M 4&UP	6 Furlongs (Turf)
Sat., June 27	Just A Game	I	300,000	F&M 4&UP	1 Mile (Turf)
Sat., June 27	New York	II	250,000	F&M 4&UP	1 1/4 (Turf)
Sat., June 27	True North	II	150,000	4&UP	6 1/2 Furlongs
Sat., June 27	Vagrancy Hdcp.	III	100,000	F&M 3&UP	6 1/2 Furlongs
Sun., June 28	Bouwerie (NYB)		100,000	F3YO	7 Furlongs
Thurs., July 2	Mount Vernon (NYB)		100,000	F&M 4&UP	1 Mile (Turf)
Fri., July 3	License Fee		80,000	F&M 4&UP	6 Furlongs (Turf)
Sat., July 4	Runhappy Metropolitan (BC)	I	500,000	3&UP	1 Mile
Sat., July 4	Manhattan	I	400,000	4&UP	1 1/4 (Turf)
Sat., July 4	Suburban	II	200,000	4&UP	1 1/4
Sat., July 4	Poker	III	150,000	4&UP	1 Mile (Turf)
Sat., July 4	Victory Ride	III	100,000	F3YO