The Garden City Hotel Celebrates the 142nd Running of the Belmont Stakes
Story by: Suzee Foster
Source: NYRA.com
Belmont Festival Sponsor Is Gathering Spot for Hat Trunk Show and Who’s Who in Horse Racing
The Garden City Hotel marks the 2010 Belmont Stakes by celebrating its 142nd running on Thursday, June 3 through race day on Saturday, June 5.
The Garden City Hotel has had a tradition of hosting a who’s who from the horse racing world. Guests have included the Belmont family who visited Long Island for such sporting occasions but also fashionable galas in the hotel’s ballroom. Today, the race’s horse owners, trainers, jockeys and spectators continue to make The Garden City Hotel their main gathering spot outside of Belmont Park.
In 2010, The Garden City Hotel will continue to sponsor the Belmont Festival, host an annual hat trunk show by designer Christine Moore, and serve as the hub for the racing community’s comings and goings.
In the hotel gift shop, hat designer Christine A. Moore (www.camhats.com) will present her annual trunk show for women seeking the customary hat to wear to the event. A full collection of styles, casual and extravagant, will be available on Thursday, June 3 and Friday, June 4 from 2:30 - 8:00 p.m.
In addition to hosting weekend festivities in a series of private events, Rein, the legendary property’s signature restaurant, will be a favorite gathering spot. Racing news will be broadcast on three large-format plasma television screens that may be viewed while sitting at the rear-lit onyx bar, or, more intimately, tableside. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night menus by award-winning Executive Chef Steven De Bruyn will be served as will Rein signature cocktails named after qualifying horses and the official drink of the Belmont Stakes, the Belmont Breeze.
ABOUT THE GARDEN CITY HOTEL (www.gardencityhotel.com): No stranger to #1 ratings, The Garden City Hotel is recognized as a leader on the Long Island dining and lodging scene. Top rankings from best food to best service are given year-on-year. The luxury hotel is one of 185 members, internationally, of the Preferred Hotels and Resorts Group and the only hotel on Long Island, having met the highest standards of quality and extraordinary service earning it Preferred Standard of Excellence status. The legendary property has been a centerpiece of Garden City, attracting the great and good, since 1874. The 280-room hotel with 16 suites, four of which are penthouse suites, has 25,000-square-feet of meeting and banquet space including a grand ballroom, spacious meeting rooms, a private ultralounge and a signature restaurant, Rein. It was originally designated as the focal point of Garden City – 7,000 acres of land 20 miles from New York City – by Alexander Turney Stewart to attract a famous and wealthy clientele from around the world. One of the most notable visitors, Charles Lindbergh, slept here in 1927 on the night before his trans-Atlantic flight. The hotel remains popular with today’s high-flyers from the worlds of business, politics, sport and entertainment. For public information about The Garden City Hotel call (516) 747-3000.
ABOUT PREFERRED HOTELS & RESORTS (www.preferredhotels.com): Preferred Hotels & Resorts is the ultimate luxury collection, featuring more than 185 exceptional hotels and resorts in the most desirable locations around the world. A member of the Preferred Hotel Group family of brands, Preferred Hotels & Resorts celebrates the individuality of its properties and intuitively understands the preferences of its guests. Preferred Hotels & Resorts embrace award-winning Standards of Excellence™, an extensive quality assurance program that has been honored with the “Best Practices Champion Award” by Cornell University. For more than 40 years, the brand’s legendary commitment to quality has ensured an unparalleled guest experience, from the very best amenities to superb service.
ABOUT CHRISTINE A. MOORE MILLINERY (www.camhats.com): Christine A. Moore, owner and designer of Christine A. Moore Millinery has been creating hats professionally for nearly fifteen years. After studying costume design and fine arts in college, Christine worked as an assistant costume designer at the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia. There she fell in love with the craft of millinery. At the close of that season, Christine already had her first job in the theatrical millinery business apprenticing Barbara Taylor. That was all it took for Christine to find her passion. After learning all she could with Taylor, she then traveled around the regional theater circuit as a freelance milliner. Finally she landed in New York City where she instantly got the job of assisting Rodney Gordon, one of the foremost theatrical milliners in New York City. Under Rodney's great supervision, Christine created hats for many opera, ballet and Broadway productions including The Phantom of the Opera, Will Roger's Follies and Crazy for You. The drive to own her own business however, kept her from being totally satisfied, so in 1990 she began to sell her own creations to boutiques in New York and in her hometown of Philadelphia. Her hats were an instant hit, and in 1993 (when she was happily overwhelmed) she stopped making hats for the theater and devoted all her time to her new business. In 1998 Christine moved to her new studio and showroom at 110 W. 34th St., suite 1009. Christine A. Moore Millinery's timeless hats are now seen in boutiques, specialty, and gift stores throughout the country.