The New York Racing Association announced Feb. 11 its stakes schedule for the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet at Aqueduct Racetrack and the June 3-7 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. The Belmont at the Big A meet opens April 30, and ends June 28.
The ongoing construction of a new and reimagined Belmont Park, which will reopen for live racing Sept. 18, will again require adjustments to the customary NYRA schedule. The spring/summer meet traditionally held at Belmont Park will again take place at Aqueduct, and the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be held at Saratoga for the third and final time.
To allow for the NYRA circuit to shift upstate in advance of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga, the spring/summer meet will pause from May 26-June 2. Following the conclusion of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, live racing at Aqueduct will resume June 11.
Headlined by the $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes (G3), the traditional New York prep for the Belmont Stakes (G1), the spring/summer meet will include 16 stakes races at Aqueduct worth $2,475,000 in total purses.
NYRA will waive entry and starting fees to the Belmont Stakes for the first three finishers of the Peter Pan. The Man o' War Stakes (G2T), which was previously held on the weekend of the Peter Pan, will be held during the fall meet at Belmont Park in 2026.
The upcoming completion of Belmont Park requires the consolidation of all downstate racing operations at Belmont. As such, the final race day at Aqueduct will be June 28. NYRA will pay tribute to Aqueduct with a special closing weekend to honor the legacy of the South Ozone Park oval.
For the complete Belmont at the Big A stakes schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule/.
The 2026 NYRA calendar of live race dates is available at https://www.nyra.com/inc/schedule/.
The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, topped by the 158th edition of the Belmont Stakes, will include 10 grade 1s among 18 graded stakes across five days of world-class competition.
With Belmont Park set to open for live racing Sept. 18, the Belmont Stakes will return to its Long Island home beginning in 2027.
The Belmont Stakes will once again be contested at 1 1/4 miles in 2026 rather than the traditional 1 1/2 miles due to the configuration of Saratoga's main track.
Tickets and hospitality offerings for the final edition of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. ET Feb. 12 at BelmontStakes.com.
A blockbuster Belmont Stakes day at Saratoga awaits fans June 6, with a program to include six grade 1s.
As in 2025, NYRA will raise the curtain on the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival with an opening day dedicated to New York-breds June 3. The special New York Showcase Day program will offer six $200,000 events exclusively for horses foaled in the Empire State.
In total, the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will offer 25 stakes races worth $11,075,000 in purses. For additional details and the full stakes schedule, visit BelmontStakes.com/schedule.
FOX Sports is the television home of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
