Belmont fall meet to be partially run at Aqueduct due to construction

To accommodate expected construction of a hockey arena on the grounds of Belmont Park, the final 14 race days of the 37-day Belmont fall meet will be conducted at Aqueduct, the New York Racing Association announced Wednesday.

Racing at Belmont will run Sept. 6 through Oct. 6 and allow for all of the usual Grade 1 stakes, such as the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, to be run there. Racing will move to Aqueduct on Oct. 11 and what will be considered the Belmont fall meet will go through Oct. 27.

The official Aqueduct fall meet will begin Nov. 1 and run 22 days through Dec. 1. The 2019-20 Aqueduct winter meet commences Dec. 5.

Graded stakes that typically have been run at Belmont that will now be held at Aqueduct include the Grade 2 Sands Point, which had its purse sliced in half to $200,000; the Grade 2 Knickerbocker; the Grade 3 Athenia; and the Grade 3 Bold Ruler. Also, New York Showcase Day, one of the best-attended and high-handle days at Belmont in the fall, will be held Oct. 19 at Aqueduct.

Construction of the hockey arena for the NHL’s New York Islanders – which will be located behind the western end of the grandstand and take up a sizeable portion of the backyard – has not yet begun. On Monday, it took a big step toward starting when the Empire State Development Corp. released the final environmental impact study for the $1.3 billion project. The ESDC board is expected to pass the study within two weeks and, if it does, construction could begin by late July or early August.

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The construction, expected to last until the fall of 2021, also is expected to impact post times for the weekday cards held at Belmont in September and October. NYRA did not announce post times for the fall meet, but it is expected that the Wednesday through Friday cards will start after 3 p.m.

NYRA released the Belmont fall stakes schedule that consists of 45 stakes worth a total of $11,525,000 in purses.

The richest race of the meet will be the inaugural $1 million Jockey Club Derby for 3-year-olds to be held Sept. 7. The Jockey Club Derby, part of NYRA’s new triple turf trinity series that began with the Belmont Derby last weekend, offers a fees-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita. It is one of eight Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In races that will be offered during the Belmont meet. The $750,000 Belmont Oaks, which is not a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race, is the final leg of the triple turf tiara for 3-year-old fillies and also will be held Sept. 7.

The race formerly known as the Temperence Hill will now be called the Grand Prix American Jockey Club. The 1 5/8-mile dirt race had its purse increased by $100,000 to $300,000 and will be part of that Sept. 7 card.

The traditional big Saturdays of the meet will be Sept. 28, when the Grade 1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup is held. That day’s card also includes the Grade 1 Vosburgh, which had its purse cut $50,000 to $300,000; the $300,000 Beldame, now a Grade 2; and the Grade 3, $200,000 Pilgrim.

On Oct. 5, the Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic tops a five-stakes card that includes the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne; Grade 2, $400,000 Hill Prince, whose purse was cut $100,000; the Grade 3, $150,000 Matron; and the $150,000 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational.

On Oct. 6, Belmont will host the Grade 1, $500,000 Flower Bowl; Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette; and Grade 3, $150,000 Futurity.