Courtesy Belmont Stakes
By Paul Post
World-class racing and top-flight entertainment will deliver a significant economic boost as the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival returns to Saratoga for a third and final year.
The 158th Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes headlines five days of racing from Wednesday, June 3, to Sunday, June 7.
Off-track events add to the draw, including a free Belmont on Broadway concert featuring Fitz and the Tantrums with special guest Vertical Horizon from 7 to 10 p.m. in downtown Saratoga Springs.
“Belmont on Broadway has really become the heartbeat of the week,” Discover Saratoga President Darryl Leggieri said. “It brings a critical mass of people downtown, creates energy for our businesses and showcases the very best of Saratoga Springs. It’s a perfect example of how tourism and community pride come together to create real economic impact. It also shows the world that Saratoga can deliver a world-class experience, and our community shows up in a big way to make it happen.”
Los Angeles-based Fitz and the Tantrums deliver a high-energy mix of indie pop and neo-soul, known for hits such as “MoneyGrabber,” “Out of My League” and “HandClap.” The band’s dual lead vocals and dynamic stage presence make it a staple on major festival circuits.
Vertical Horizon, a multiplatinum alternative rock band formed in Washington, D.C., rose to prominence with late-1990s and early-2000s hits, including “Everything You Want,” and continues to draw audiences with energetic live shows.
A ticketed VIP show featuring comedian Chelsea Handler is also scheduled at Universal Preservation Hall. She hosted “Chelsea Lately” on E! from 2007 to 2014 and “Chelsea” on Netflix from 2016 to 2017.
“Belmont Stakes Racing Festival generates tens of millions in economic impact while driving visitation during what is usually a nonracing timeframe,” Leggieri said. “What’s most exciting is how it’s evolved into a full destination experience filling hotels, supporting small businesses, and introducing Saratoga to new audiences that we can convert into future visitors.”
The festival includes 25 stakes races worth $11.075 million, including 10 Grade 1 races among 18 graded stakes.
“It’s a huge economic win, not only for Saratoga Springs and Saratoga County, but the entire Capital Region,” said Greg Connors, Saratoga Economic Development Corporation president. “At an estimated $9 million impact per day, when applied to this year’s 51 days of racing, the economic impact will be close to one-half billion dollars in just a short 90-day period.”
Saratoga will host the Belmont Stakes for a third straight year while a reimagined Belmont Park undergoes construction ahead of its scheduled Sept. 18 reopening on Long Island.
The track will also host a 46-day summer meet, beginning with the July 4 Racing Festival from July 3 to July 5, followed by four-day racing weeks from July 9 to July 26 and a return to five-day weeks starting July 29.
“The racing festivals are not only an almost three-month opportunity to support the hospitality and tourism industry, but it also, for the third year in a row, introduces Saratoga County to an international audience,” Connors said. “For those visitors who read, watch, listen or visit during the racing festivals, their interest in making their next capital economic investment is a tangible byproduct of what Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County and the Capital Region can offer as a result of the Belmont Racing Festival and NYRA’s annual world-class thoroughbred racing.”
The summer meet concludes with a six-day stretch from Sept. 2 through Labor Day, Sept. 7.
Beginning next year, the Belmont Stakes and July 4 Racing Festival return to Belmont Park, while Saratoga resumes its traditional 40-day meet.
“In June 2024 and 2025, we saw annual increases in sales tax collections at the county and city level as well as increases in revenue per available room at lodging facilities,” said Todd Shimkus, Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce president. “Hotel leaders are already chatting with us about how to replace this business in June 2027, which tells the economic value of having been able to host the Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga for these three years.”
“Beyond this, our community has seen extraordinary coverage not just of Saratoga Race Course, but of the many amenities that make Saratoga a great place to visit,” he said. “Our community has been promoted around the world as a place that all fans of horse racing must visit, and my expectation is that this will help us expand visitation for years to come.”
The New York Racing Association will raise purse levels nearly 14% across all categories during the Belmont Festival and summer meet.
Opening day features New York-breds, with six $200,000 races including the Mike Lee, Bouwerie, Commentator, Critical Eye, Kingston and Mount Vernon.
Purse increases for state-bred races will take effect during the festival and continue through the summer meet, with maiden special weights at $100,000, first-level allowance races at $105,000 and second-level allowance races at $110,000. New York-bred 2-year-old maiden special weight races will run for $115,000.
The Belmont Stakes is one of six Grade 1 races scheduled for Saturday, June 6, and will again be contested at 1 1/4 miles due to Saratoga’s track configuration.
Additional races include the Grade 1, $1 million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap; the Grade 1, $1 million Resorts World Casino Manhattan; the Grade 1, $500,000 Jaipur; the Grade 1, $500,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun; the Grade 1, $500,000 Just a Game presented by Resolute Racing; and the Grade 3, $400,000 True North.
Tickets are available at BelmontStakes.com.
Fans can also attend “Belmont Toast the Turn,” a 21-and-over hospitality experience offering track access, a clubhouse viewing area and two alcoholic beverages, with additional food and drinks available.
Tickets cost $150 on June 5 and $250 on Belmont Stakes Day, June 6, and are available at gofevo.com/group/BSRFtoastturnG.
The summer meet will feature 20 Grade 1 races among 73 stakes worth more than $23.575 million. Highlights include the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 29 and the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on Aug. 8.
The 2026 Saratoga condition book will be released in June.
“Each summer, Saratoga Race Course stands at the center of the racing world,” said David O’Rourke, New York Racing Association president and CEO. “The 2026 season will be particularly special as we celebrate the final Saratoga edition of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and honor America’s 250th anniversary at one of the country’s most historic sporting venues.”