Belmont Stakes Festival Fitting Lead-In To Great Race
True greatness is achieved over time, and proof that the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes ranks among the world’s great Thoroughbred races is that it will be run for the 141st time on Saturday, June 6. The 1½-mile “Test of the Champion” for three-year-olds is the oldest and longest leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. First run in 1867, the Belmont Stakes pre-dates the Kentucky Derby by eight years and the Preakness Stakes by six years.
Even without a Triple Crown at stake – Big Brown failed in his bid last year – the Belmont Stakes remains at the top of the list of major New York sporting events. And the neighboring communities of Elmont, Floral Park, Garden City, all part of the Town of Hempstead, will be gearing up for Belmont Stakes Day by participating in the Belmont Stakes Festival from Saturday, May 30 – Saturday, June 6.
The Belmont Stakes Festival starts off in style with the Elmont 2009 Belmont Stakes Festival Parade at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 30 along Hempstead Turnpike in front of Belmont Park. Following the parade, New York Racing Association President and Chief Executive Officer Charles E. Hayward will accept the key to the city, and kick off Family Fun Day, sponsored by the Elmont Chamber of Commerce, at noon at the Alva T. Stanforth Recreation Center, 700 Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont. At 1 p.m., the award-winning documentary First Saturday in May will be shown in the theater at the Elmont Public Library, 700 Hempstead Turnpike.
On Sunday, May 31, at 9 a.m., the Floral Park 5K Youth Council Run will start near Centennial Gardens in Floral Park. Later, Belmont Park will host Elmont’s Community Day at noon at the Festival Tent in the backyard. There will be free admission for Elmont residents, sponsored by Bethpage Federal Credit Union (pick up resident voucher at Bethpage Federal Credit Union, 1633 Dutch Broadway. For information, call (516) 354-5280
On Monday, June 1, Morton’s, The Steakhouse will host The Belmont Stakes Kickoff Reception from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., 777 Northern Blvd., Great Neck, to benefit backstretch charities. RSVP to (516) 498-2956.
On Tuesday, June 2, there will be a Belmont Stakes breakfast reception at TD Bank, 855 Franklin Ave., Garden City, from 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
On Wednesday, June 3, Fresh Meadows Country Club, 255 Lakeville Rd., Lake Success, will be the site of the Hat and Author Luncheon to benefit the Kidney and Urology Foundation of America. The luncheon will run from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. For more information, call (516) 222-0550. In Huntington, the Walt Whitman Benefit Gala to benefit Walt Whitman Birthplace Association’s Champions of Literacy Awards will begin at 7 p.m. at Oheka Castle. Call (631) 427-5240 for more information.
The Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation and The New York Division of the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America will both benefit from the annual Belmont Bash on Thursday, June 4 at Meadowbrook Pointe, 1100 Corporate Drive, Westbury. There will be dinner, dancing and a casino night from 6:30 p.m. – 11 p.m. Call (212) 371-5970 for more information.
On Friday, June 5, Daily Racing Form and The New York Racing Association, Inc. will honor the memory of Joe Hirsch, the DRF Executive Columnist who died earlier this year, with a memorial service on track.
Floral Park will host its annual Belmont Festival and Street Fair on Tulip Avenue from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m., while its Garden City counterpart will run from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. on Seventh Street. Also, the American Cancer Society’s 2009 Gala of Hope will be held at 7 p.m. at the Garden City Hotel. For reservations and information, call (516) 747-3000.
The Belmont Stakes Festival comes to a close at Belmont Park on Saturday, June 6 with Belmont Stakes Day. Parking fields open at 8:15 a.m., admission gates at 8:30 a.m. and first-race post is 11:35 a.m.
Click here to view the Belmont Stakes Events Calendar