Belmont Park June 2016

[perks]

I’m in New York during the week running up to the Belmont Stakes and have decided to go to Belmont Park on Thursday 9th June.
I’ve never been racing in the U.S. before. I love a bet and obviously I’m conscious that there’s a Tote monopoly.

I would appreciate any advice members can give which will help us enjoy the day. Some of the things I had in mind were the best way to get there (staying on Manhattan), options on getting a bet on, trainers and jockeys to follow, winner finding etc.

Thanks for your time.
John

[apracing]

John,

I’d recommend using Equibase.com as a source of runners, betting forecasts, past form, trainer records etc. When you get the racecard up, just click on the name of the horse to get a full career record and you’ll also see the Equibase rating, giving a best career figure and a best of 2016 figure. From that career list, you can load the full result charts for every race the horse has run.

You might also find useful info on Nyra.com, the site of the New York racing authority that runs Belmont. Here’s the link to their travel advice page:

https://www.nyra.com/belmont/information/directions/

[apracing]

And here’s the program of races for that day:

https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaDownloadAction.cfm?sn=CB-BEL-20160609-20160611D

[perks]

Thanks Alan. I’ll going to find these links most useful. I appreciate it.

[Steeplechasing]

Interesting conditions, Alan, with prize money in one race down to eighth place and in another $4,000 is reserved to be shared among ‘other finishers’

Also, supplementary fees look very good value at 1.5% of total purse. My maths make the Epsom Derby supplementary about 5.6%

[apracing]

Joe,

Certainly a lot more interesting than our steady diet of Class 4 and Class 5 handicaps midweek, and a plus to have all that detail on the race conditions freely available to the public. Quite why the BHA, Weatherbys and our tracks feel that sort of info should all be restricted to a chosen few remains a mystery in the online age.

As for the prize money, three years ago I did the sums on the total Tote take for Belmont Stakes day and the figure was just shy of $90M.

[yeats]

Steeplechasing wrote:

Interesting conditions, Alan, with prize money in one race down to eighth place and in another $4,000 is reserved to be shared among ‘other finishers’

Also, supplementary fees look very good value at 1.5% of total purse. My maths make the Epsom Derby supplementary about 5.6%

One of the many benefits of not having bookmakers?

[Miss Woodford]

‘Murican here. You’re lucky in that this won’t be a Triple Crown year so the crowds won’t be too horrific. Last year people were packed in like sardines even with NYRA capping attendance at 90,000. In non-triple crown years it’s usually 50-60,000.

Since you’ll be without a car the best way to get to the park is the Long Island Rail Road which runs a train directly to and from Belmont Park and has a special schedule for the big race day. You can board it at Penn Station.

How to bet: You can place a wager in person at the betting windows or use the touchscreen machines. Might want to do it in person if you’re unfamiliar with the system. I recommend staying away from the exotics (exacta, trifecta, daily double, pick four, etc.) and just say “$2 on the [number of horse] to win in race #, please”. Get a copy of the Daily Racing Form for the day if you can and study the past performances. Horses are horses regardless of which way they’re running, so the rules you follow at home should mostly apply with our nags as well. The Belmont itself can be kind of a guessing game because none of the colts have run 12 furlongs and the ones who didn’t run back in the KY Derby haven’t even run 10 furlongs. The best horse in the race will obviously be Exaggerator if he runs, but his jockey hasn’t done particularly well in New York and there is the question of how much a third race in five weeks will take out of him.

American racetracks typically have prize money down to the 5th place horse but certain stakes will have special purse conditions in order to attract a bigger field. All the wagering money going to the track rather than the bookies does make for bigger purses, but even in races where there aren’t any wagering (like at the Far Hills jumps meeting) purses are bigger.

[perks]

Thanks Miss Woodford. Useful info

[Author]

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