Horse-racing's yearly trifecta comes to a close Saturday with the running of the Belmont Stakes.
By and large, the “Test of the Champion” — the longest of the three Triple Crown races — is held at the event’s namesake, Belmont Park in Nassau County New York.
Times are changing, however. And the latest iteration of the longest Triple Crown race is slated to take place in an entirely new surface.
Here’s what you need to know about the site of the 2024 Belmont Stakes, Saratoga Race Course.
MORE: What to know about the 2024 Belmont Stakes post position
Where is the Belmont Stakes in 2024?
Despite its name, the 2024 version of the Belmont Stakes won’t actually be held at Belmont Park. Rather, it will take place at Saratoga Race Course, an iconic venue in its own right located in the heart of upstate New York.
Saratoga has played host to a number of iconic races. Remember Man o’War, the 1920 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner whose push for a trifecta was felled after his owner opted to leave him out of the Kentucky Derby? Well, he was vanquished at Saratoga that year, dispatched to the dustbin of the course’s history by upstart thoroughbred Upset. Triple Crown winner American Pharoah only suffered one loss in his glittering career. It was at the 2015 Travers Stakes, held at Saratoga. American Pharoah did take home that Triple Crown that year, though.
All of that is to say, Saratoga is an environment teeming with history. With Belmont Park undergoing serious renovation — the New York Racing Association shelled out $455 million for repairs to the facilities, per reports — Saratoga made all the more sense as the host of the 1.5-mile gauntlet.
“I mean, this has been a rumor for a couple of years regarding the Belmont in Saratoga,” Mayor John Safford said, per the Associated Press. “The fact that it actually came about is just exciting.”
Capacity for the race has been capped at 50,000, right at the venue's limit. The city has rarely seen attendance like that in early-June. However, it's still a stomping ground for horse-racing excellence. As such, the masses have flocked into its golden gates time-and-time again.
“It’s 50,000 people here on Saturday, June 8, that is unprecedented,” Saratoga Chamber of Commerce president Todd Shimkus said. “We’ve never had that many people here on a June 8 in the history of Saratoga Springs. But 50,000 people come here often over the summer.”
There might be some growing pains in hosting an event of the magnitude of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga. However, with an estimated $50 million windfall on the horizon, not to mention exposure and prestige that wouldn't have been possible to generate otherwise, it's a risk race officials are willing to take.
Plus, they have another year to get things right: The Belmont Stakes will return to Saratoga in 2025, too.
“It is sure to be an incredibly exciting weekend,” NYRA president David O’Rourke said. “We are thrilled to be able to add this chapter to the long and storied history of thoroughbred racing here in Saratoga.”
How long will the Belmont Stakes be in 2024?
Although the Belmont Stakes is typically ran over the course of 1 1/2 miles, this year's version of the competition will be 1 1/4 miles, the same distance as the Kentucky Derby.
The reason for the distance change? Saratoga can only accommodate 1 1/4 miles. So expect a radically different race to the one we typically see take place. It's the first time the Belmont Stakes will be held at 1 1/4 miles since 1905.
