ELMONT, N.Y. – The renovation project at Belmont Park is on schedule, New York Racing Association officials said during a tour of the facility this week. The foundation for the new, smaller building was poured about three weeks ago and the first pieces of steel for the five-story building, which is expected to be 275,000 square feet, could be put in starting in March. Meanwhile, work on the four racing surfaces, including the new synthetic track, has been moving along, with the process of installing new drainage and irrigation systems the focal point of construction. The turf courses – as well as the main track and synthetic track – will benefit from much improved drainage systems, making for more consistent surfaces, according to Glen Kozak, NYRA executive vice president, operations and capital projects. “There is drainage underneath the entire course,” said Kozak, adding that previously “there was no drainage.” Kozak said there are already 192 dry wells installed that are 20 feet deep and 10 feet around. The turf courses will also benefit from there being a 50-50 mix of sand and organic material underneath the sod. Kozak said the ratio at other tracks is typically 80-20 or 90-10. The latter ratios may help courses drain quicker “but the downside is the root system and its ability to hold,” said Dave O’Rourke, NYRA’s president and CEO. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Kozak said he is hopeful that come April he will begin to start laying down the sod for the two turf courses. When that project is complete, presumably in May, that will give the courses more than a year to settle and for the root system to take hold before the planned opening of Belmont in September 2026. “We’re going to have a mature turf course by the time we get on it,” O’Rourke said. What that likely means is the 2026 Belmont Stakes and its supporting stakes, will be held at Saratoga, though an official decision on that has not yet been made. NYRA, in public presentations to the Franchise Oversight Board, has discussed the option of holding the 2026 Belmont Stakes at Belmont even if the building was not yet complete. In addition to the drainage system, NYRA has improved the irrigation system for the turf courses. Whereas it used to take five hours to properly water one course, Kozak said NYRA will be able to water the two turf courses as well as the synthetic surface with a quarter of a million gallons of water being put down in one hour. “Having the ability to put that quantity of water in that short of time period is going to greatly improve the quality of what the turf is, and then also having consistent drainage on here,” Kozak said. Kozak also created a new innovation to the synthetic track using recycled mats to put under the base. The mats should prevent asphalt that’s underneath the surface from being inadvertently pulled into the surface by a harrow. The installation of the one-mile synthetic surface is nearing completion with all the material for the Tapeta track having been laid, though it has not been evenly distributed yet due to drainage work being done. The synthetic surface will play a vital role in the future of New York racing. Not only will it be the sole track utilized during the winter meet starting in 2027, it will also be relied upon when wet weather forces scheduled grass races off the turf. NYRA is hopeful that by protecting the courses in times of wet weather, they will hold up better and potentially be used for longer periods of time throughout the year. “Having the synthetic where we don’t beat it up is going to be the key to the health and the quality of the turf courses where we’re able to have a course that we’re able to use without trying to run so many races over a soft or a yielding turf course,” Kozak said. “Having the luxury of a synthetic [track] without [doing] damage to a turf course is going to be incredible.” :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  The turf courses will be smaller in circumference than the previous ones. However, there will be additional running lanes that can be used because there will no longer be a crown on them. The inner turf course will now be 1 1/8 miles (previously 1 3/16 miles) while the Widener course will be 1 1/4 miles (previously 1 5/16 miles). Kozak said no races on the inner turf course will start from 1 1/16-mile chute on the Widener. The renovation of the main track – which is not expected to start until the spring – will include the repositioning of the finish line approximately 125 feet past where the finish line was set on the previous track. The way the tracks will sit, the finish line for all four tracks will be at the same point. In addition to being on schedule, NYRA maintains that the project is on budget. NYRA received a $455 million loan from New York State that goes to the renovations of the building. NYRA has used $100 million from the capital projects fund it gets from the VLTs at Aqueduct to pay for the renovations of the surfaces as well as the pedestrian and vehicular tunnels. The pedestrian tunnels will allow for access to the infield. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.