Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on June 8; 4 days of racing, events

June 6, 2024 Hot Copy

By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer

The 156th running of the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, is Saturday, June 8, at 6:41 p.m. at Saratoga Race Course.

Typically held at Belmont Park in Long Island, the horse race moves to Saratoga this year and in 2025 to allow for construction at Belmont Park. It is the first time the oldest of the Triple Crown events, first run in 1867, will be run at Saratoga.

Mindframe at 7-2 odds, is one early favorite, second only to Sierra Leone who’s 9-to-5.

The Belmont is traditionally the longest of the Triple Crown races at 1½ miles.

But because the Saratoga Race Course has a shorter track than Belmont Park, at Saratoga it will be raced at 1¼ miles, the same distance as the Kentucky Derby.

It will be part of the broader Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, Thursday through Sunday, June 6-9, featuring 24 stakes races worth over $10 million in total.

All tickets are sold through Ticketmaster.com or through the NYRA Box Office.

Belmontstakes.com says tickets for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes Day are sold out, but verified resale tickets for all days may be available through Ticketmaster.

Sierra Leone, shown working out, is the early Belmont favorite, at 9-5 odds. NYRA photo/Adam Coglianese

Saratoga says those without a ticket can still participate in the excitement of race weekend via Belmont on Broadway from June 4-9, a “six-day fan-fest celebration” put on by Discover Saratoga.

Other free events include the Belmont Stakes Artists’ Festival Thursday through Sunday at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and the Belmont Stakes Day Saturday Morning Social, also at the museum, from 9-11 a.m. on June 8.

At race-time, downtown watch parties will take place at Universal Preservation Hall, Putnam Place, The Bunker and Dance Fire Studio.

FOX will broadcast the Belmont Stakes. Wall-to-wall coverage of the entire four-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival can be seen on FS1 and FS2, said press info.

There will be no 14th-ever Triple Crown winner this year. Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan finished 2¼ lengths behind winner Seize The Grey in the Preakness.

Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980

Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on June 8; 4 days of racing, events

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