NYRA/Coglianese Photo

NYRA announces 2021 race dates

by Pat McKenna

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the 2021 NYRA racing calendar, which calls for 202 live race days at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course.

Live racing is currently being conducted at Aqueduct, where the 2021 winter meet continues through Sunday, March 28. Following the conclusion of the 2021 winter meet, the 11-day spring meet will open on Thursday, April 1 and conclude on Sunday, April 18.

For the complete 2021 Aqueduct stakes schedule, inclusive of both winter and spring meets, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/stakes-schedule/. Stakes schedules for upcoming meets will be announced at the appropriate time.

Following the conclusion of the 2021 Aqueduct spring meet, live racing will shift to beautiful Belmont Park for a 48-day spring/summer meet, which is highlighted by the 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 5. The 2021 spring/summer meet will run from Thursday April 22 through Sunday, July 11. Live racing will generally be conducted 4 days per week throughout the spring/summer meet, Thursday-Sunday.

The 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course will open on Thursday, July 15 and continue through Labor Day, September 6. Following opening weekend, racing will be conducted 5 days a week with the exception of the 6-day closing week. The summer meet is anchored by the 94th running of the Whitney on August 7 and the 152nd running of the Travers on August 28.

Following the conclusion of the 2021 summer meet, live racing will return to Belmont for a 28-day fall meet, which will open on Thursday, September 16 and continue through Sunday, October 31. Live racing will generally be conducted 4 days per week throughout the fall meet, Thursday-Sunday.

Racing returns to the Big A on Friday, November 5 for an 18-day fall meet that will run through Sunday, December 5. The Aqueduct winter meet will then begin on Thursday, December 9 with the 2021 schedule to conclude on December 31. 

To mitigate risk and reduce the spread of COVID-19, New York state currently requires all racetracks to operate without spectators in attendance and with a series of health and safety guidelines in place. A limited number of owners licensed by the state are currently permitted to attend live racing on the day their horse is entered. 

For additional information, visit NYRA.com.