Belmont Park Reopens With $1 Million Jockey Club Gold Cup After $455 Million Rebuild

Belmont Park reopened for racing Friday after a $455 million reconstruction, with the New York Racing Association marking the event with the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup headlining the opening-day card.

The mission changed the observe’s sprawling 1968 grandstand — which spanned roughly 1.25 million sq. toes — with a compact, five-story, roughly 300,000-square-foot constructing designed by the structure agency Populous. The smaller footprint opened up about 20 acres of infield house to spectators for the primary time and added new pedestrian and automobile tunnels connecting to the inside oval.

On the racing surfaces, the 1½-mile predominant dust observe often called “Big Sandy” stays in place and the observe’s two turf programs have been widened. NYRA additionally added a brand new one-mile all-weather Tapeta oval, meant to be used throughout winter racing and as a climate contingency choice. A historic Japanese White Pine tree within the paddock was preserved all through building and stays a centerpiece of the grounds.

The reopening is a phased one: solely the primary two flooring of the brand new grandstand are operational for now, with the constructing’s premium suites and banquet areas not anticipated to be full till spring 2027. Belmont Park has additionally been awarded the 2027 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Aqueduct Racetrack, which hosted Belmont’s racing throughout the reconstruction, held its ultimate meet June 27-28.

Superstar horse Forever Young is entered within the Jockey Club Gold Cup on the reopening card, which additionally contains a efficiency by nation singer Dierks Bentley.