NYRA to race five fewer days in 2018

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The New York Racing Association will race 229 live dates in 2018, five fewer than were approved for this year.

The premier meet of the season, Saratoga, will stay at 40 days. Racing will be held on a six-days-a-week schedule from July 20 through Labor Day, Sept. 3, with Tuesdays dark.

The Belmont spring /summer and fall meets also will have the same number of dates. The spring meet will have 54 programs and the fall meet will be 36 days.

The Aqueduct winter/spring meet will begin Jan. 1 and continue through April 22.

Racing will be held Thursdays to Sundays for most of January and February, with Monday holidays cards on New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, and Presidents Day. The season will be 61 days, three fewer than this year.

There were 16 racing days in April this year. There will be 13 in 2018.

The Aqueduct fall/winter meet will begin Breeders' Cup Friday, Nov. 2 and run though the end of the year. Because of the way the calendar falls, the session will be 38 days, two fewer than this year.

For the entire schedule, visit https://cms.nyra.com/uploads/wysiwyg/assets/uploads/NYRA_2018_Race_Dates_V2_1.pdf