OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The New York Racing Association (NYRA) released its 2016 racing calendar today, which calls for 237 days of live thoroughbred action at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course.
Once again, the 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course will serve as the anchor for a spectacular year of racing. The meet, anchored by the Grade 1 Whitney on Saturday, August 6 and the 147th edition of the Grade 1 Travers on August 27, will begin on Friday, July 22 and conclude on Labor Day, Monday, September 5, with racing conducted six days a week, Wednesday through Monday.
Racing on the Aqueduct’s inner track, which begins on December 9, will continue through March 26, 2016. Racing will be conducted four days a week during the months of January, February and March.
The 19-day spring meet will be conducted on Aqueduct’s main track from March 31 through April 24, kicking off with the first two Grade 1 races of the year – the $1 million Wood Memorial and the $400,000 Carter Handicap on Saturday, April 9.
The 54-day Belmont spring/summer meet begins on Friday, April 29. The three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will begin on Thursday, June 9, and is anchored by the 148th running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 11.
The Belmont spring/summer meet also will feature the second “must-see” event of the year, the internationally themed “Stars & Stripes Festival” featuring the Grade 1, $1.25 million Belmont Derby and the $1 million Belmont Oaks on Saturday, July 9. The spring/summer meet concludes on Sunday, July 17.
Later in the year, the Belmont Fall Championship meet will run 38 days from Friday, September 9 through Sunday, October 30. Two “Super Saturdays” are scheduled for Saturday, October 1 and Saturday, October 8. The highlight of the Fall Championship meet, the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup, is scheduled for October 8.
NYRA’s racing calendar wraps up with 36 days of live racing at Aqueduct commencing on Thursday, November 4 and running through New Year’s Eve, with a ten-day winter break scheduled from Monday, December 19 through Wednesday, December 28.
The 2016 stakes schedule for Belmont Park and Saratoga will be announced shortly.