Racing returns to Belmont Park Friday, Sept. 18. The 27-day Belmont Fall Meet runs through Sunday, Nov. 1 and is highlighted by 38 stakes races worth $5.58 million in purse money.
A total of 22 graded stakes races headline the fall meet. It will feature seven Grade 1 events and seven Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” qualifiers to the two-day Breeders’ Cup 2020 World Championships, to be held November 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course.
Saturday of opening weekend is the $250,000 Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational on the turf for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/4 miles. The second leg of the Turf Triple series for 3-year-old fillies in a 1 1/4-mile turf test on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Following opening weekend, racing will take place Thursday through Sunday at Belmont Park except on Columbus Day weekend.
Empire Showcase Day is Saturday, Oct. 24. The annual celebration of all things New York features eight stakes races with the best New York-breds battling down the stretch at Belmont. The headline race is the $175,000 Empire Classic at 1 1/8 miles.
While racing fans are not allowed at the track during the COVID-19 pandemic, fans can wager legally online at TVG and receive a bonus bet up to $300 with a new registration.
Belmont Fall Meet’s Biggest Saturday Stakes
Five graded races will highlight the Saturday, Oct. 3 card, led by the Grade 1, $250,000 Belmont Derby Invitational. That race is the second leg of the Turf Triple series, a 10-furlong turf test offering a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
The card is bolstered by four more graded races:
- Grade 1 $250,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at 12 furlongs on the turf for 3-year-olds and up
- Grade 2 $150,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
- Grade 2 $150,000 Kelso Handicap, a one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and up
- Grade 2 $150,000 Pilgrim for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on the turf
Three more graded stakes races are Sunday, Oct. 4.
Columbus Day weekend, beginning Saturday, Oct. 10 and ending on Monday, Oct. 12, will feature nine graded events worth $1.65 million, including four Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” challenge races on Saturday.
- Grade 1, $250,000 Champagne, won last year by Belmont Stakes and Runhappy Travers hero Tiz the Law, at one-mile for 2-year-olds providing a spot in the starting gate for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
- Grade 1, $250,000 Flower Bowl at 10 furlongs for 3-year-old and up fillies and mares, with a berth in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
- Grade 1, $250,000 Frizette, a one-turn mile for juvenile fillies offering a berth in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
- Grade 1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup at 10 furlongs for 3-year-olds and up with the winner to the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
- Grade 2, $150,000 Sands Point for sophomore fillies at one mile on the turf.
Sunday, Oct. 11 will feature the Grade 3, $100,000 Futurity, a 6-furlong turf sprint offering a berth in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint; and the Grade 3, $100,000 Matron for juvenile filly turf sprinters.
