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America's Day at the Races to broadcast every live race day of the Belmont Park spring/summer meet

by Brian Bohl

America's Day at the Races, the acclaimed national telecast produced by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) in partnership with FOX Sports, will present live racing throughout the 48-day Belmont Park spring/summer meet that will run from Thursday, April 22 through Sunday, July 11.

America’s Day at the Races will also feature live racing from the 38-day Churchill Downs spring meet that runs Saturday, April 24 to Saturday, June 26, as well as continued coverage of the 57-day Oaklawn Park which runs through May 1.

Opening Night of the Churchill Downs meet on Saturday, April 24 will offer a first post of 6:00 p.m. to kick off Derby Week leading into the Grade 1, $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks on Friday, April 30 and the 147th running of the Grade 1, $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve on Saturday, May 1 as part of a card that includes seven graded stakes.

Each live racing day at Belmont Park will feature coverage on FS2, which will also offer special preview shows for both the Kentucky Derby on Friday, April 30, and the Belmont Stakes on Friday, June 4.

America's Day at the Races April schedule:

(All times Eastern)

Thursday, April 22 * Opening Day

FS2: 1 - 5 p.m.

Friday, April 23

FS2: 1 - 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 24

FS2: 1 - 11 p.m.

Sunday, April 25

FS2: 1 - 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 27

FS2: 11 - 12 p.m. [Kentucky Derby Draw Show]

FS2: 12:30 - 5 p.m.

Wednesday, April 28

FS2: 12:30 - 5:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 29

FS2: 12:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Friday, April 30

FS2: 12 - 5:30 p.m.

FS2: 8:30 - 9:00 p.m. [Kentucky Derby Preview Show]

Presented by America’s Best Racing and Claiborne Farm, America’s Day at the Races will air on FS2 from 1-5 p.m. Eastern this Thursday, Opening Day at Belmont Park, and from 1-5:30 p.m. on FS2 on Friday that will also show the $100,000 Affirmed Success for 4-year-olds and up going six furlongs in the first stakes of the meet.

Among the notable broadcasts will be live racing coverage on Friday, April 30 from 12-5:30 p.m. followed by a special Kentucky Derby Preview show from 8:30-9 p.m. Both shows will be on FS2. The Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby will both air on NBC.

Saturday, May 8 will see Belmont host five graded stakes, including the meet’s first Grade 1 event with the $700,000 Man o’ War for 4-year-olds and up going 1 3/8 miles on the turf. The day, which will see FS2 air from 2-6:30 p.m., will also include four Grade 3 contests: the $150,000 Beaugay for older fillies and mares on the turf; the $150,000 Runhappy for 4-year-olds and up sprinting on the main track; the $150,000 Vagrancy Handicap for older fillies and mares sprinting on the dirt; and the $150,000 Peter Pan, a traditional Belmont Stakes prep, for sophomores going 1 1/8 miles.

The spring/summer meet’s most heralded day is Saturday, June 5, when Belmont Stakes Day will see nine total graded stakes, including eight Grade 1s, with FS2 showing most of the stacked undercard with coverage from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and wrap-around coverage from 7:15-8:15 p.m. The 153rd running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, the 1 1/2-mile final leg of the Triple Crown, will be aired on NBC.

FS2 will air a special half-hour Belmont Stakes preview show the day prior, June 4, from 6:30-7 p.m.

The Belmont spring/summer meet boasts 59 total stakes races worth $16.95 million in total purse money. In April, first post time at Belmont will be 1 p.m. Eastern, with the exception of Kentucky Oaks Day on Friday, April 30, which will offer a 12:20 p.m. first post.

In May, Belmont will offer a 1 p.m. post time with some exceptions. Thursday cards in May will begin at 3:05 p.m. America's Day at the Races will feature those cards as well as the Twilight Thursday program at Churchill Downs.

America's Day at the Races is also broadcast on NYRA's YouTube channel which boasts more than 65,000 subscribers. Fans can subscribe to NYRA's channel and set a reminder to watch the show on YouTube Live. NYRA's YouTube channel also hosts a plethora of race replays, special features, America's Day at the Races replays and more.

Free Equibase-provided past performances are available for races that are part of the America's Day at the Races broadcast and can be accessed at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.