2025 Belmont at the Big A fall meet to offer 45 stakes worth $9.45M

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the stakes schedule for the 32-day 2025 Belmont at the Big A fall meet. 

Due to the ongoing construction of the new Belmont Park, the fall meet will once again be conducted at Aqueduct Racetrack. The fall meet will begin on Thursday, September 11 and run through Sunday, November 2, including four Grade 1s and five Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” qualifiers. The meet will offer a total of 45 stakes worth $9.45 million in total purses. 

The Belmont at the Big A stakes action kicks off on Saturday, September 13 with the $150,000 Floral Park, a six-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up and is followed on September 14 with the Listed $150,000 Athenia at nine furlongs on turf for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up. 

Thursday, September 18 features the Grade 1, $150,000 Lonesome Glory, a 2 1/2-mile steeplechase for older horses, ahead of a pair of six-furlong turf sprints worth $150,000 for New York-bred juveniles in the Joseph A. Gimma for fillies on Friday, September 19 and the Bertram F. Bongard on a Saturday, September 20 card that also offers the one-mile Grade 3, $175,000 Winter Memories for sophomore fillies on turf. Both the Gimma and Bongard, previously offered at seven furlongs on dirt, received a purse increase of $25,000. 

Friday, September 26 offers the Grade 2, $250,000 Beldame, a nine-furlong route for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up as part of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen Series. 

Saturday, September 27 features a loaded card with five graded events, including the first Grade 1 flat race of the meet in the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/2 miles on turf. The card is supported by the Grade 2, $300,000 Woodward at nine furlongs for 3-year-olds and up, and the Grade 3, $200,000 Vosburgh, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up that awards a “Win and You’re In” berth into the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November at Del Mar. Also featured are the Grade 2, $250,000 Gallant Bloom at 6 1/2-furlongs for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, and the Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint at six furlongs for 3-year-olds and up. 

A lucrative weekend concludes on Sunday, September 28 with the $150,000 Gio Ponti at one-mile on turf for sophomores. 

Thursday, October 2 through Sunday, October 5 will see a plethora of graded events, beginning on Thursday with the Grade 3, $175,000 Matron, a six-furlong turf sprint for juvenile fillies. 

The Friday, October 3 card features a pair of Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” events on turf for 2-year-olds in the Grade 2, $200,000 Pilgrim [Juvenile Turf] at 1 1/16-miles and the Grade 3, $175,000 Futurity [Juvenile Turf Sprint] at six furlongs. 

Saturday, October 4 will see five stakes, including two more Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” qualifiers for 2-year-olds with the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne [Juvenile] at a one-turn mile and the Grade 2, $200,000 Miss Grillo [Juvenile Fillies Turf] at 1 1/16-miles for fillies. The stacked program is supported by the Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette at one-mile for juvenile fillies as part of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen Series, the upgraded Grade 2, $500,000 Jockey Club Derby Invitational at 11 furlongs on turf for sophomores, and the restricted $125,000 Discovery for sophomores yet to win a graded stakes at one-mile or over in 2025. 

A lucrative weekend concludes on Sunday, October 5 with the Grade 3, $175,000 Waya at 11 furlongs on turf for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up. 

The Saturday, October 11 card includes the upgraded Grade 3, $175,000 Glen Cove at six furlongs on turf for sophomore fillies and the Listed $150,000 Artie Schiller at one-mile on turf for 3-year-olds and up. Sunday, October 12 features the $150,000 Carle Place at six-furlongs on turf for 3-year-olds. 

Saturday, October 18 is headlined by the Grade 2, $200,000 Sands Point at nine-furlongs on turf for sophomore fillies.

Fall Starter Championship Oct. 18 to feature 10 starter events worth a combined $970K

The October 18 program also launches the Fall Starter Championships featuring 10 races offering a combined $970,000 in purse money.  

The Fall Starter Championship is open to horses which have started for a prescribed claiming price since July 1, 2024. The 10-race series, each named after some of the most popular claiming horses to run on the NYRA circuit, features races at distances ranging from seven furlongs to 1 3/16-miles on the main track as well as from six furlongs to 1 1/16-miles on the turf. 

The following day will see a pair of turf stakes for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up in the Listed $150,000 Noble Damsel at one-mile and the $150,000 Autumn Days at six furlongs. 

Saturday, October 25 is the annual Empire Showcase Day card, which includes nine New York-bred stakes valued at $1.9 million in total purses. The card is highlighted by two nine-furlong events for 3-year-olds and up worth $250,000 in the Empire Classic and its counterpart, the Empire Distaff for fillies and mares. Empire Showcase Day will also include seven $200,000 stakes in the Sleepy Hollow, Maid of the Mist, Mohawk, Ticonderoga, Iroquois, Hudson and the inaugural running of the New York Turf Sprint Championship at six furlongs for 3-year-olds and up. 

Closing Weekend of the fall meet kicks off Friday, October 31 with a pair of Listed $150,000 events in the one-mile Tempted for juvenile fillies and the seven-furlong Pumpkin Pie for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up. 

Saturday, November 1 continues with two more Listed $150,000 stakes in the one-mile Nashua for 2-year-olds and the six-furlong Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship for 3-year-olds and up. 

Closing Day Sunday, November 2 will offer three stakes, including the Grade 3, $175,000 Forty Niner, a one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and up that will offer the top-three finishers a fees-waived berth in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile to be run during the Aqueduct fall meet. The lucrative card also includes the Grade 2, $250,000 Red Smith, an 11-furlong turf test for 3-year-olds and up, and the Grade 3, $175,000 Bold Ruler at six furlongs for 3-year-olds and up. 

For the complete Belmont at the Big A fall meet stakes schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule/.