by NYRA Press
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced that tickets for the 2020 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will go on sale to the public on Thursday, February 6, starting at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.com.
Highlighted by the 152nd running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes - the oldest and most challenging leg of horse racing's vaunted Triple Crown - the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will begin on Thursday, June 4, and conclude Saturday, June 6.
The three-day event, launched in its current format in 2015, features a unique blend of world-class racing and entertainment complemented by a variety of hospitality options. The 2020 edition of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will feature the very best in thoroughbred racing including 17 stakes races over the three days of action and eight Grade 1 races on Belmont Stakes Day, June 6.
NYRA will be offering advance pre-sale opportunities to NYRA Bets members and returning ticket buyers via email. In addition, all prospective ticket buyers can visit BelmontStakes.com today to sign up for the pre-sale and secure a spot at the 2020 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
The Belmont Stakes is an American tradition inaugurated in 1867 at Jerome Park Racetrack and moved in 1905 to its familiar home at beautiful Belmont Park. As the third leg of racing's Triple Crown, the 1 ½-mile "Test of the Champion," as the Belmont Stakes is known, has showcased many of history's greatest thoroughbreds over 151 editions.
The Belmont Stakes has been won by Hall of Famers from Sir Barton, Man o' War and Native Dancer to Secretariat, Affirmed and Easy Goer. That only 13 horses in history have achieved Triple Crown glory by winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes attests to its mystique as one of the rarest accomplishments in all of sports.
Two of those Triple Crown triumphs have come in the last five years, with American Pharoah ending a 37-year Triple Crown drought in 2015 and Justify capping a perfect 6-for-6 career with a Triple Crown-clinching effort in 2018.
For additional information, and details on hospitality offerings, ticket packages and pricing, visit BelmontStakes.com.
Official logos for the 2020 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival can be accessed at https://www.nyrainc.com/media/logo-download by using the password NYRA2020Media.
About the New York Racing Association (NYRA)
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) holds the exclusive franchise to conduct thoroughbred racing at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. NYRA tracks are the cornerstone of New York State's thoroughbred industry, which is responsible for 19,000 jobs and more than $3 billion in annual statewide economic impact.
Accredited by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's Safety and Integrity Alliance, NYRA is a founding member of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, a group of the nation's leading racing organizations working collaboratively to advance safety measures across the sport.
Over the course of 217 days of live racing in 2019, NYRA generated more than $2.1 billion in all-sources wagering handle with paid attendance exceeding 1.5 million.
Pat McKenna
Saturday's 12-race Belmont Stakes Day card, featuring six graded stakes and highlighted by Tiz the Law's victory in the 152nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes, generated all-sources handle of $67,753,336.
Brian Bohl
The traditional playing of "New York, New York" is a hallmark of the prelude to the Belmont Stakes. Frank Sinatra's refrain resonated strongly on Saturday, as Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law overtook Tap It to Win coming out of the turn and drew away for a 3 ¾-length triumph in the 152nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes, becoming the first state-bred in 138 years to win the American Classic.
NYRA Press Office
Serving as a prelude to the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes one race later, the Grade 1, $250,000 Jaipur presented by America's Best Racing provided plenty of excitement in advance of the first American classic run this year, with the 6-year-old mare Oleksandra storming down the stretch of Belmont's inner turf course to edge a dead-game Kanthaka in a thrilling finish.
Brian Bohl
Michael Lund Petersen's Gamine took social distancing directives to heart, ensuring none of her six competitors would get anywhere close in the stretch en route to an 18 ¾-length domination of the Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Acorn for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday at Belmont Park.
Keith McCalmont
Robert E. and Lawana L. Low's Sweet Melania made all the running with a sharp seasonal debut to capture Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Wonder Again, a one-mile event for sophomore fillies on the Widener turf course at Belmont Park.
NYRA Press Office
The Christophe Clement-trained Decorated Invader continued his steady ascent to the top of the 3-year-old turf division with an authoritative 4 ¾-length victory in the Grade 2, $150,000 Pennine Ridge on Saturday at Belmont Park over five rivals.