Belmont Park

Address:2150 Hempstead Turnpike
Elmont, New York

Belmont Park Race Track...And They're Off! The horses come thundering down the track, the jockeys urging them forward. The crowd roars on its collective feet. You stand, shouting with everyone else: "Go, Go, Go!" Can you handle the intensity? If so Belmont Park is the place for you.

Belmont Park is a 430-acre horse racing track in Elmont, New York, and is most famous for being the home of the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel, after the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, in American horse racing's Triple Crown. At 1½ miles, it is the longest, oldest and, said to be, the most challenging of the three races comprising the Triple Crown. The race is held five weeks after the Kentucky Derby. June's Belmont Stakes closes the Super Bowl for equines, and thus every Triple Crown winner has been coroneted in Elmont. In addition to the Belmont Stakes, other major races held at Belmont have included the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Suburban Handicap, the Memorial Day standby, and the Metropolitan Handicap, also known as the "Met Mile."

Two racing seasons are normally held at Belmont Park each year: the Spring/Summer season, which is typically held from May to July, and the fall season, which is usually held from September to October. Belmont is known as "The Championship Track" because almost every major champion in racing history, since the early 20th century, has competed on the racecourse, including each of the 11 Triple Crown winners.

In addition to its importance to racing, "Beautiful Belmont Park" is often called one of the best-landscaped venues in American sports. This is partially because of the stately backyard park behind the grandstand, which includes the paddock in which the horses are saddled before each race. The backyard and backstretch are notable for their huge, attractive trees and landscaping, and the infield is dominated by two picturesque lakes. The Backyard picnic area features food concessions and a playground, as well as free concerts and events. Belmont makes a good case for bringing the whole family on a day's outing. The backyard is also well-known as a gathering place for racing fans to see their horses saddled before they hit the track. The center of the paddock is dominated by a white pine that predated the track itself. It turned 180 years old in 2006, and a stylized version of the pine has been the centerpiece of Belmont Park's corporate logo since 1968. The current grandstand, thoroughbred racing's largest, was completed in 1968, after five years of renovations to the Belmont complex.

August Belmont, Jr. and William Collins Whitney, along with other investors, built the original Belmont race track which opened on May 4, 1905. In addition to racing history, Belmont Park made history in another industry native to the Hempstead Plains - aviation. Some 150,000 people were drawn to the track on Oct. 30, 1910, at the climax of the Wright Brothers-staged international aerial tournament, which had started eight years earlier.

Belmont Park has had its fare share of another type of airtime as well. A January 1975 episode of the ABC sitcom The Odd Couple entitled "Felix the Horse Player" was filmed partly at Belmont Park, though one of the race clips on the show features the shot of an Aqueduct starting gate. A few years later, Dick Cavett took the camera crew of his PBS talk show to Belmont for a look at horse racing. Scenes for the Woody Allen movies "Mighty Aphrodite" and "Melinda and Melinda" were shot at Belmont Park, as was a paddock scene for the 1990s remake of the film Gloria, starring Sharon Stone and George C. Scott. Belmont Park was also featured in an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond," where Frank, Robert and Ray bet on a horse named "Maria's Mouth". Because of Belmont's role hosting big, nationally-televised races on broadcast and cable TV, its track announcers are among the best known in the sport.

You can choose the Grandstand but, for an extra few dollars a person admission, it's worth pulling up the driveway to the landscaped Clubhouse entrance. The Clubhouse is also quieter with better places to eat. It's well-maintained, and the bathrooms are clean. Going to the Clubhouse also gives you access to the Grandstand. In addition, the Grandstand, backyard, and Trackside Apron area offers plenty of free benches, chairs, and picnic tables.

Belmont Park is located right off exit 26-D, off the Cross Island Parkway. General Parking costs around $2, and Shuttle Bus service is available from all general parking areas. Public transportation is another way to go. Bus service to Belmont includes the N6 (MTA Long Island Bus), which stops in front of Belmont Park. The Q110 MTA bus is also provided every 20 minutes, to and from Belmont, on racing days. These buses pick up and discharge directly outside the admission booths at the west end of the track. The Q2 bus stops at Hempstead Ave. and 225th Street, adjacent to Belmont Park. During racing season, the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) Hempstead Line also stops at Belmont Park. Service for Belmont Park operates on an express line to and from Jamaica, where connections are available to the E & F subway trains, and there is service to other LIRR stations, including Penn Station.