NYRA announces significant winter meet purse increases

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced significant purse increases to overnight races during the winter meet at the new Belmont Park.

The Belmont Park winter meet is slated to run from Thursday, December 10, and continue into March with a definitive end date to be announced prior to the 2027 Wood Memorial and in conjunction with NYRA’s 2027 race dates. Throughout the winter meet, racing will be conducted exclusively on the newly-installed Tapeta surface.

In addition to new racing opportunities, overnight purses at the winter meet have been increased by 23 percent with more than $26 million in overnight purse money on offer. The average overnight purse will see a per-race increase of nearly 10 percent. Specific purse levels for the Belmont Park winter meet are published at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/incentives/#overnightpurses.

“NYRA is making a significant investment in improving its winter racing program,” said Andrew Offerman, NYRA Senior Vice President of Racing and Operations. “We believe the Tapeta surface will draw interest from a wide variety of stables seeking winter racing opportunities throughout the region and that these purse increases in conjunction with the formation of the Big Apple Bonus program will provide an opportunity for a new era of winter racing to succeed in New York.”  

The New York-bred NW1X category will enjoy a $10,000 purse increase to $87,000, while the New York-bred MSW category will see the same boost to $85,000 in 2027.

Open MSW races saw an increase of $5,000 to $85,000, while open NW1X events were improved by $4,000 to $87,000. Open allowance events will be offered for $93,000, up $3,000 from one year ago.

On September 18, NYRA launched the Belmont Big Apple Bonus, a new initiative created to reward owners and trainers for participating in the fall meet at the new Belmont Park. The Big Apple Bonus provides up to $8,500 in awards per horse shipping or relocating to Belmont Park from other racing jurisdictions. Owners and trainers currently based at NYRA are fully eligible for these bonuses.

Stall applications for the Belmont Park winter meet, which are due by November 13, are now available online at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/horsemen/.

For the Belmont Park winter meet stakes schedule, please visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/stakes-schedule/.