Belmont Stakes: NYRA pleased with how smoothly things went

ELMONT, N.Y. – Though there was a predictable drop in handle, Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, for the most part, was logistically, aesthetically, and historically a success for the New York Racing Association, officials said.

There were far fewer complaints from fans who attended Saturday’s Belmont Stakes – where American Pharoah became Thoroughbred racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner – than there were last year, when concessionaires ran out of food, wifi and cellular service was poor, and fans were stranded for hours trying to leave the grounds.

Last year, a crowd of 102,199 came to see California Chrome’s failed bid to win the Triple Crown. This year, NYRA capped the attendance at 90,000 – which was the number announced as the official crowd – renovations were made to the Long Island Rail Road station, and there was more attention to detail when it came to the flow of vehicular traffic. Also, NYRA held a post-race concert with the Goo Goo Dolls that officials believe helped alleviate the mad rush to exit the track following the races.

“I think aesthetically it was a great day for racing fans and for our organization,” NYRA president and chief executive Chris Kay said Sunday following a press conference with American Pharoah’s connections. “We did make a decision to forgo profit to make sure our fan experience was the best it could be, and I think it was. We felt like last year we put together a great racing card, we put together some great entertainment, but there were some issues some people experienced on the way out, and we didn’t want to see that happen again.”

All-sources handle on Saturday’s 13-race card was $134,839,390, a 10.2 percent decline from last year’s record of $150,249,399. Ontrack handle was $16,861,158, a 13.3 percent drop from last year’s figure of $19,105,887.

There were 20 fewer betting interests this year than last year, and the first race of the day, the $150,000 Easy Goer Stakes, scratched down to a field of three, with only win wagering permitted.

“We’re very happy with the numbers,” Kay said. “It’s the second-largest day in Belmont Stakes history.”

Though handle was down $15.4 million on Saturday, NYRA’s handle on Thursday and Friday was up a combined $6.5 million over a year ago. On Sunday, with a 10-race card compared with nine a year ago, all-sources handle was $10,020,212, up 11.7 percent from last year.

The overnight rating for a nearly three-hour broadcast of the Belmont on NBC was a 12.3, down 5 percent from the 12.9 overnight rating posted for last year’s broadcast, according to figures released by the network on Sunday. The share for the broadcast was a 27, NBC said, meaning that one in four televisions in use at the time were tuned to the Belmont broadcast.

The 12.3 rating was the third-highest for a Belmont broadcast in the modern era, behind last year’s figure and a 15.9 posted for the 2004 broadcast, featuring Smarty Jones's attempt to win the Triple Crown. NBC also said that the rating this year was the highest for a Saturday afternoon sports program since the NFL’s AFC divisional playoff game Jan. 10.

Kay also was happy with the way things went following the races, in particular, with the Long Island Rail Road.

According to Newsday, the LIRR shuttled 25,583 passengers to Belmont Park this year, compared with 36,000 last year. Between NYRA and the LIRR, $5 million was invested in renovating the station, and a nearby station was closed Saturday to house additional trains.

“It was important for us to work with them and improve that station – it’s like a new station,” Kay said. “They put in money, we put in money in.”

Kay also said the flow for vehicular traffic was improved with the help of 65 senior law enforcement officials who visited the track a few weeks ago to go over plans with track and local officials.

“They threw out various scenarios, what happens if this occurs, what happens if that occurs? It’s called a ‘tabletop exercise,’ ” Kay said. “They do the same thing for New Year’s Eve in Times Square. So, it just made everybody work better.”

Kay said he and his staff in a few days will review the Belmont, “what went right, what went wrong,” and begin planning for next year. Part of that review will include revisiting the attendance cap. Also, Kay said NYRA will talk about the feasibility of opening the infield, as is done at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

“We would need to create tunnels for our fans to get to the infield, and that would certainly be something to look at as we think about the future,” Kay said.

– additional reporting by Matt Hegarty