Photo:Walter Wlodarczyk / NYRA
The New York Racing Association announced the stakes schedule for the 2024 Belmont at the Big A spring-summer meet, which will open Thursday, May 2, and include 32 stakes worth more than $6.6 million in total purses.
As announced in December, the ongoing construction of a new and re-imagined Belmont Park will require significant adjustments to the customary NYRA schedule. Most notably, the 2024 Belmont Stakes racing festival will be held at Saratoga from June 6-9. In addition, the spring-summer and fall meets traditionally held at Belmont will take place at Aqueduct in 2024.
Stakes schedule | Stakes Tracker | Stakes results
Differences between the circumference of Belmont Park and Aqueduct will require slight distance changes to a number of races to be contested during the Belmont at the Big A spring-summer meet.
?On the turf, five races previously run at seven furlongs, the Elusive Quality, Soaring Softly, Paradise Creek, NYSSS Cupecoy's Joy and NYSSS Spectacular Bid, will be contested at six furlongs.
In addition, both the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational and Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) will be contested at 1 3/16 miles on turf rather than the customary 1 1/4 miles. On the main track, the Brooklyn (G2) will be run at 11 furlongs rather than the traditional 12 furlongs.
The meet’s stakes action kicks off on the May 2 opening-day card with the $100,000 Affirmed Success for older New York-breds sprinting six furlongs. Graded action at the meet begins the following day with a pair of Grade 3 contests slated for Friday, May 3, in the $200,000 Sheepshead Bay for older fillies and mares going 1 3/8 miles on the turf and the $175,000 Westchester for older horses traveling a one-turn mile.
Saturday, May 4, will feature the $200,000 Fort Marcy (G2) at nine furlongs on the turf for older horses, the $200,000 Ruffian (G2) at a one-turn mile for older fillies and mares, and the listed $150,000 Elusive Quality for older horses.
Three more stakes events will close out the weekend on Sunday, May 5, with the $175,000 Beaugay (G3) at 1 1/16 miles on turf for older fillies and mares, and two six-furlong listed events in the $150,000 License Fee for older filly and mare turf specialists and the $150,000 Gold Fever for sophom*ores.
Saturday, May 11, will feature the $400,000 Man o’ War (G2) for older horses traveling 1 3/8 miles on the turf; the $200,000 Peter Pan (G3) for sophom*ores going nine furlongs, the traditional local prep for the Belmont Stakes; and the $175,000 Runhappy (G3) at six furlongs for older horses. The weekend concludes with the $175,000 Soaring Softly (G3) for sophom*ore fillies on the turf on Sunday, May 12.
The $175,000 Vagrancy (G3) for older fillies and mares sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs will be run on Saturday, May 18, with the listed $150,000 Paradise Creek for sophom*ores to follow on Sunday, May 19. The $200,000 Pennine Ridge (G2) for sophom*ores going nine furlongs on the turf will be held Saturday, May 25, followed by the $200,000 Wonder Again (G2) at nine furlongs for sophom*ore fillies on Monday, May 27.
After a nearly two-week hiatus from Aqueduct for the Belmont Stakes racing festival at Saratoga, spring-summer meet stakes action will resume on Friday, June 14, with the $150,000 NYSSS Cupecoy’s Joy for eligible state-sired sophom*ore turf fillies.
The $200,000 Bed o’ Roses (G2) for older fillies and mares sprinting seven furlongs will headline the Saturday, June 15, program followed by the $150,000 Spectacular Bid division of the NYSSS for eligible state-sired sophom*ores on the turf on Sunday, June 16.
The listed $150,000 Wild Applause for sophom*ore fillies going one mile on turf will be run on Saturday, June 22, before older New York-bred fillies and mares take center stage on Sunday, June 23, for the six-furlong $125,000 Dancin Renee. Sophom*ore turf specialists will take on the one-mile $250,000 Manila (G3) on Saturday, June 29.
Closing Week of the spring-summer meet kicks off on Thursday, July 4, with the $175,000 Victory Ride (G3) for sophom*ore fillies sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs and the listed $150,000 Perfect Sting for older fillies and mares going one mile on the lawn. Friday, July 5, will provide a new place on the racing calendar for the $200,000 Brooklyn (G2), a marathon for older horses traditionally run on the Belmont Stakes undercard.
A stakes-laden program on Saturday, July 6, will feature four graded events led by a pair of Grade 1s on the turf in the $750,000 Belmont Derby Invitational for sophom*ores and the $500,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational for sophom*ore fillies. These prestigious contests will be supported by the $200,000 John A. Nerud (G2) for older horses sprinting seven furlongs and the $200,000 Dwyer (G3) for sophom*ores going one mile.
The meet’s stakes action concludes on Sunday, July 7, with a pair of $125,000 New York-bred turf tests in the one-mile Hudson Valley for older horses and the 1 1/16-mile Port Washington for older fillies and mares.
| Belmont at the Big A | Date | Gr. | Purse | Div. | Dist. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affirmed Success | May 2 | NYB | $100,000 | 4+ | 6 fur |
| Sheepshead Bay | May 3 | G3 | $200,000 | f&m 4+ | 1 3/8 (t) |
| Westchester | G3 | $175,000 | 4+ | 1 mile | |
| Ruffian | May 4 | G2 | $200,000 | f&m 4+ | 1 mile |
| Fort Marcy | G2 | $200,000 | 4+ | 1 1/8 (t) | |
| Elusive Quality | listed | $150,000 | 4+ | 6 f (t) | |
| Beaugay | May 5 | G3 | $175,000 | f&m 4+ | 1 1/16 (t) |
| License Fee | listed | $150,000 | f&m 4+ | 6 f (t) | |
| Gold Fever | listed | $150,000 | 3yo | 6 fur | |
| Man o’ War | May 11 | G2 | $400,000 | 4+ | 1 3/8 (t) |
| Peter Pan | G3 | $200,000 | 3yo | 1 1/8 mi | |
| Runhappy | G3 | $175,000 | 4+ | 6 fur | |
| Soaring Softly | May 12 | G3 | $175,000 | 3yo f | 6 f (t) |
| Vagrancy | May 18 | G3 | $175,000 | f&m 4+ | 6 1/2 f |
| Paradise Creek | May 19 | listed | $150,000 | 3yo | 6 f (t) |
| Pennine Ridge | May 25 | G2 | $200,000 | 3yp | 1 1/8 (t) |
| Wonder Again | May 27 | G2 | $200,000 | 3yo f | 1 1/8 (t) |
| Belmont at Saratoga | June 6-9 | ||||
| NYSSS Cupecoy’s Joy Div. | June 14 | res | $150,000 | 3yo f | 6 f (t) |
| Bed o’ Roses | June 15 | G2 | $200,000 | f&m 4+ | 7 fur |
| NYSSS Spectacular Bid Div. | June 16 | res | $150,000 | 3yo | 6 f (t) |
| Wild Applause | June 22 | listed | $150,000 | 3yo f | 1 mi (t) |
| Dancin Renee | June 23 | NYB | $125,000 | f&m 4+ | 6 fur |
| Manila | June 29 | G3 | $250,000 | 3yo | 1 mi (t) |
| Victory Ride | July 4 | G3 | $175,000 | 3yo f | 6 1/2 f |
| Perfect Sting | listed | $150,000 | f&m 4+ | 1 mi (t) | |
| Brooklyn | July 5 | G2 | $200,000 | 4+ | 1 3/8 mi |
| John A. Nerud | July 6 | G2 | $200,000 | 4+ | 7 fur |
| Dwyer | G3 | $200,000 | 3yo | 1 mile | |
| Belmont Derby Invitational | G1 | $750,000 | 3yo | 1 3/16 (t) | |
| Belmont Oaks Invitational | G1 | $500,000 | 3yo f | 1 3/16 (t) | |
| Hudson Valley | July 7 | NYB | $125,000 | 4+ | 1 mi (t) |
| Port Washington | NYB | $125,000 | f&m 4+ | 1 1/16 (t) | |
| NYB - New York bred | |||||
| NYSSS - Stallion Stks. Series | |||||
| res - restricted | |||||
| (t) - turf |
