Belmont Stakes Racing Festival gets out of the gate with New York Showcase Day

“Start spreadin’ the news”! The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is making “a brand-new start of it” during the 2025 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at historic Saratoga Race Course with an Opening Day dedicated to New York-breds on Wednesday, June 4.’
 
Admission gates open at 11 a.m. with first post scheduled for 12:40 p.m and the first 10,000 fans will receive an I Love NY-Breds baseball cap.
 
Highlighted by the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on Saturday, June 7, the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be conducted at Saratoga Race Course from Wednesday, June 4 through Sunday, June 8. The festival will include 27 stakes races with purses totaling $11,275,000, the richest purses and highest number of stakes offered since the launch of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival in 2014.
 
In partnership with New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB), the Opening Day of the Belmont Stakes Festival will tip off with an I Love NY-Breds baseball cap giveaway. The first 10,000 fans to enter with paid admission will receive a free, white baseball cap featuring the NYTB and 2025 Belmont Stakes logos in tribute to the New York-bred industry.
 
"Kicking off this year's Belmont Stakes Racing Festival with New York Showcase Day is a great opportunity for fans and our program participants to experience the quality and talent of New York's breeding and racing industry." said New York Thoroughbred Breeders Executive Director Najja Thompson. "With a card featuring six New York-bred stakes races, fans can expect to see top performances from horses who were all foaled and raised here in the Empire State."
 
New York Showcase Day will feature six $200,000 events exclusively for New York-breds, including the seven-furlong Mike Lee for sophomores; Bouwerie at the same distance for sophomore fillies; the nine-furlong Commentator for 3-year-olds and up and the Critical Eye at the same distance for females 3-years-old and up. On the turf, there will be a pair of 1 1/16-mile events, the Kingston for older horses and the Mount Vernon for older fillies and mares.
 
New York Showcase Day will also shine a spotlight on the state’s robust agricultural industry with food and beverages made exclusively in New York State. Fans will have the opportunity to sample and purchase craft beer, wines, spirits and food at the Taste NY Pavilion, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and Markets.
 
“The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets looks forward to this annual partnership with the Saratoga Race Course and the opportunity to showcase New York’s craft beverage and local food industries through its Taste NY program,” said State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball. “I encourage everyone to stop by the Taste NY area and taste what New York has to offer.”
 
The Pavilion will operate from noon to 5 p.m. and will feature products from some of New York’s best small producers, including craft beer from Whitman Brewing Co., Paradox Brewing Co., Frog Alley Brewing Co., Montauk Brewing Co., Northway Brewing Co. and Speckled Pig Brewing Co.
 
Craft spirits and wines will be available from Hudson Whiskey NY, The Albany Distilling Company, Pick Six Vodka, New Scotland Spirits and Keuka Spring Vineyards. Additionally, fans can enjoy New York Craft canned cocktails from Social Hour and Hinny Hard Seltzer.
 
Food offerings will be available from local favorites Country Corner Cafe and Toga Nola in Saratoga Springs, and Hildebrandt’s ice cream based in Nassau County.
 
The Taste NY Pavilion, a fixture of the summer meet, will operate throughout the entire Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Fans may sample and purchase products on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, while the Taste NY Bar will operate exclusively on Belmont Stakes Day Saturday.
 
New York Showcase Day will feature the talented Mendelssohn Club, an Albany-based choral group which will perform, appropriately enough, “New York, New York”. Led by conductor Jason Dashew, the male chorus has been performing in the Capital District since its inception in 1909. The Mendelssohn Club is one of the landmark institutions in the Northeast and a unique part of Albany’s cultural life.
 
As Saratoga Springs transforms into the “sixth borough” for the day, the celebration will extend beyond the track with the free Belmont on Broadway concert in downtown Saratoga Springs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
 
Belmont on Broadway will feature performances by Gin Blossoms and Uprooted.
 
Formed in 1987, Gin Blossoms rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, New Miserable Experience, including its Top 25 hit from that album, “Hey Jealousy.”

Uprooted, featuring lead singer Michael Glabicki, is the successor to the popular polyrhythmic, multicultural rock-and-soul band Rusted Root. Belmont on Broadway is produced in conjunction with The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors and its many partners including the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, Discover Saratoga, Saratoga Economic Development Corporation, the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association and the Saratoga Springs City Center.
 
For more information on the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and New York Showcase Day, visit BelmontStakes.com.