The New York Racing Association will conduct 45 stakes worth $9.45 million, including five stakes that offer automatic berths into their respective Breeders’ Cup divisions later this fall, during its 32-day Belmont at the Big A fall meeting.  This marks the fourth consecutive year that Belmont’s fall meeting will be run at Aqueduct due to the renovation project at Belmont Park that is expected to be completed in time for the 2026 fall season.  The Belmont at the Big A fall meet runs from Sept. 11 through Nov. 2. From a stakes perspective, the heart of the meet is from Sept. 26 through Oct. 5 when 14 graded stakes – including all three flat Grade 1 events offered – will be held.  The Grade 2, $250,000 Beldame, a 1 1/8-mile race that could lead to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, will be held Sept. 26. The following day, the Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic tops a five-stakes card that includes the Grade 2 Woodward, the Grade 3 Vosburgh, the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom, and the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint Championship. Of that group, only the Vosburgh, at seven furlongs, offers a Breeders’ Cup berth, tied to the Sprint.  :: Bet Smarter at Saratoga. Unlock DRF data and expert analysis all meet long. Save with a Saratoga Handicapping Package from DRF.  The Woodward, at 1 1/8 miles, had its purse cut from $400,000 to $300,000. As recently as 2022, the Woodward had a $500,000 purse.  On Oct. 3, the Grade 2 Pilgrim and Grade 3 Futurity offer BC berths to the Breeders’ Juvenile Turf and BC Juvenile Turf Sprint, respectively.  The Oct. 4 card includes the Grade 1 Champagne, Grade 1 Frizette, Grade 2 Jockey Club Derby, Grade 2 Miss Grillo, and Grade 3 Futurity. The Champagne and Miss Grillo winners get fees-paid berths into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, respectively.  Horsemen could use the Grade 3 Waya on Oct. 5 as a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.  The Oct. 25 Empire Showcase Day will have nine stakes for New York breds worth $1.9 million including the inaugural running of the New York Turf Sprint Championship.   NYRA has tinkered with a couple of stakes for 3-year-old males. The Discovery, which had typically been run at 1 1/8 miles in November, has been shortened to one mile and will held Oct. 4. The Dwyer Stakes, a one-mile race typically run in the summer, has been moved to Nov. 8 as part of the Aqueduct fall meet.  The $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship and the Grade 2, $250,000 Red Smith have been moved to the Belmont at the Big A fall meet and will be run Nov. 1 and 2, respectively.  The Forty Niner, at one mile on dirt, and the Bold Ruler at six furlongs – both Grade 3 stakes – will be run on Nov. 2. Each had their purses slashed by $75,000 to $175,000.  Aqueduct fall meet stakes  There will be 28 stakes worth $6.025 million offered at the 27-day Aqueduct fall meet, but two long-standing sprint stakes have been eliminated from the schedule.  The Fall Highweight, once upon a time a Thanksgiving Day tradition and a race that had 111 runnings starting in 1914, and the Gravesend, which also goes back to 1959, are no longer on the schedule.  NYRA has renamed the Grade 3 Runhappy Stakes – previously run in July – the Elite Power and will run that $250,000 race at six furlongs as part of a six-stakes card on Dec. 6. Elite Power was twice champion sprinter. The Dec. 6 card includes a trio of Grade 2 stakes – the $500,000 Cigar Mile, the $250,000 Remsen and $250,000 Demoiselle as well as the Great White Way and Fifth Avenue divisions of the New York Stallion Series, two races each worth $500,000.  The Grade 3 Comely, for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles, and the listed Go for Wand, for fillies and mares 3-years-old-and-up at one mile, have been moved from November to Dec. 7 and 13, respectively.  In addition to the Gravesend and Fall Highweight, the Tepin and Atlantic Beach, both turf stakes, have been eliminated from the schedule. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.