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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday May 25, 2005

HORSE RACING EVENTS GALLOP INTO SEASON AT BELMONT PARK

Contact:  Kristen Matejka   
Director of Marketing and Communications
LICVB&SC
631 951-3900 xt. 317

HORSE RACING EVENTS GALLOP INTO SEASON AS BELMONT SPRING/SUMMER MEET OPENS ON LONG ISLAND

Belmont Park Celebrates 100th Anniversary With A Variety Of Events, Including Belmont Stakes Day And The Breeders Cup Championship

HAUPPAUGE, NY- (May 24, 2005)- Horseracing season has arrived on Long Island with a range of heart-pounding events scheduled at Belmont Park, including the opening of the Belmont Stakes racing season.

Belmont Park, the largest track of its kind in the country, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

Now open with a range of special events planned, the biggest day of the Spring/Summer Meet will begin Belmont Stakes Day on Saturday, June 11, running through Sunday, July 24. This year, Giacomo, the 5-1 upset winner of the Kentucky Derby squares off with Afleet Alex, a horse who overcame a near disastrous fall to win the Preakness.

The 137th running of the $1 million, 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes is the oldest and longest leg of the Visa Triple Crown for three-year-olds. Last year, a record crowd of 120,139 saw Birdstone foil Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones' attempt to become racing's 12th Triple Crown winner.

Belmont Park has a range of events scheduled to bring the entire family out to the track through the season all the way through to the Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championship Oct. 29.

Open to the public on weekends and holidays during the Belmont Spring/Summer Meet, Breakfast at Belmont offers fans a chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at the world of racing. Guided tram tour of the stable area, Mary Ryan's trackside commentary and Shelia Lindquist's Paddock Demonstration are all free. A trackside breakfast at a reasonable price is optional. Everyone attending gets a free Belmont Park stadium seat cushion and, on Sundays, there is variety of entertainment for children.

One of racing's more prestigious events, the Grade 1, $750,000 Metropolitan Handicap will be run for the 112th time on Memorial Day. The "Met Mile" experience will be enhanced with one of the meet's top giveaways, the 100th Anniversary Belmont Park Stein featuring the greatest horses to run at Belmont Park over the last 100 years, including Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. It's free with each paid admission, while supplies last.

The oldest and longest leg of the Visa Triple Crown, the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes is the 1 ½-mile "Test of the Champion." It is also the feature on a star-studded card that will include the Grade 1, $400,000 Manhattan Handicap for three-year-olds and up at 10 furlongs on the turf; the Grade 2, $250,000 Brooklyn Handicap for three-year-olds and up at nine furlongs; the Grade 2, $200,000 True North Breeders' Cup at six furlongs; the Grade 2, $200,000 Riva Ridge Breeders' Cup for three-year-olds at seven furlongs and the Grade 2, $300,000 Just A Game Breeders' Cup for fillies and mares at a mile on the turf. Belmont Stakes Day will also feature a $1 million guaranteed Pick 6 and a $1 million guaranteed Pick 4.

Family fun days are every Sunday from noon- 4 p.m. and feature petting zoos, miniature golf, family comedy troupes, magicians, plus pony rides, face painters and balloon clusters every week. It's free except for a $1.00 donation per pony ride to benefit the Backstretch Employees Assistance Team (B.E.A.T.).

Other Belmont Stakes events include: May 29 - World of Horses at Belmont Park; May 29 - Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at Belmont; May 30 - Memorial Day - Belmont Park Commemorative Stein Giveaway; June 7 - Belmont Stakes Festival Charity Golf, Meadow Brook Country Club; June 10 - 8th Annual Broadway at Belmont, the 7th Annual Garden City Parade and Street Fair, the Belmont Stakes Parade and Street Festival at Floral Park; June 11 - 137th Belmont Stakes - First Race Post, noon.

From Saturday, July 2 - Monday, July 4, Belmont Park will offer top-shelf racing, giveaways and a backyard barbeque. On Saturday, July 2, the Grade 1, $500,000 Suburban Handicap for three-year-olds and up at a mile and a quarter will lure a crowd, and all will be attracted by the day's giveaway, a Belmont Park Stadium Blanket, which will be give free with each paid admission, while supplies last.

On Saturday, October 29 is the The Breeders' Cup at Belmont Park. Comprised of eight races with purses and awards totaling $14 million, it is the most important global horse racing event and the richest day of racing in North America. The Breeders' Cup draws top thoroughbreds to a different location each year.

This will be the fifth time that The New York Racing Association will host the Breeders Cup, having previously hosted the event at Belmont Park in 1990, 1995 and 2001, and at Aqueduct Racetrack in 1985.

The Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission (LICVB &SC) was established in 1979 as a marketing arm for the destination’s nearly $5 billion travel and tourism industry. Based on Long Island in Hauppauge, NY, the LICVB & SC contributes to the economic development and quality of life on Long Island by promoting Long Island as a world-class destination and by attracting individuals, tours, meetings and conventions, trade shows, sporting events, related activities and business to Long Island. For more information about Long Island, please contact the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission by calling 1-877-FUN-ON-LI or visit the web site at http://www.funonli.com.


 

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