Belmont Park will host Breeders' Cup in 2027 after $455M renovation
The Breeders' Cup world championships are returning to New York in 2027 at the rebuilt Belmont Park, following a massive renovation project to revitalize one of the most important horse racing tracks in the country.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, along with officials from the Breeders' Cup and the New York Racing Association, announced Wednesday that the track on the edge of Queens and Nassau County on Long Island will stage the event in the fall two years from now.
"We wrote the Governor of New York a letter in 2023 that simply said, 'If you build it, we will come,'" Breeders' Cup Limited President and CEO Drew Fleming said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "And so we're very honored to keep our word and have a wonderful Breeders' Cup world championships here in 2027 to showcase the new development and investment in Belmont Park to our fans from across the globe."
Keeneland in Lexington was revealed as the 2026 host.
"It was always part of the initial goals"
Belmont Park was last home to the Breeders' Cup in 2005, the fourth time in two decades after also being there in 1990, '95 and 2001. A goal of the $455 million teardown and reconstruction was to attract the major event.
"It was always part of the plan: We weren't going to redevelop Belmont Park without Breeders' Cup in mind, so it was always part of the initial goals," NYRA President and CEO David O'Rourke told the AP by phone. "Getting the championships back to New York is big from an economic point of view, and probably one of the most important (things), if not the most important, it gives our trainers and horsemen a chance to compete on their home tracks. I think it's great. It's been over 20 years."
Hochul in a statement said the redevelopment is bringing thousands of jobs and $1 billion in long-term economic activity to Long Island.
"Thanks to the investments we are making at Belmont Park, the long held dream of bringing the prestigious Breeders' Cup back to New York will soon be a reality," Hochul said.
Breeders' Cup shifting back to East Coast
The Breeders' Cup has been at a Kentucky or California track every year since 2008. Del Mar outside San Diego has it this year as a back-to-back host and for the fourth time since 2017.
Santa Anita outside Los Angeles, Keeneland and Churchill Downs in Louisville — home of the Kentucky Derby — have become the regular sites for the two-day festival featuring the best thoroughbreds in the world and tens of millions of dollars' worth of races. It's shifting back to the Eastern time zone for the next two years.
"California is and has always been a wonderful spot to have the Breeders' Cup with Santa Anita Park and Del Mar, but one of the missions of the Breeders' Cup is to grow the sport and one of the ways we do this is hosting world championships at various venues across the United States," Fleming said, adding that he expects the event to generate $100 million for the New York economy.
While NYRA has not yet announced a location for the 2026 Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown is set to return to its old home by 2027 at the latest, after a multiyear stint at historic Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York during renovations.
With the Belmont at Belmont Park shifting back to an annual occurrence, it is possible the track known for greats like Secretariat and Seattle Slew rumbling down the stretch to the finish line with fans roaring might get back in a regular rotation.
"The best part about working for the Breeders' Cup is that nothing is off the table," Fleming said. "New York City has some of the finest accommodations and restaurants and entertainment in the world, so it'd be a natural fit that we would be at Belmont Park frequently."
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