Belmont weekend cards canceled; stakes rescheduled for Thursday

ELMONT, N.Y. – Live racing at Belmont Park was canceled Saturday and Sunday due to a powerful nor’easter that was forecasted to bring high winds and heavy rain to Long Island, the New York Racing Association announced Friday.

The National Weather Service has placed Long Island under a wind advisory for Saturday and Sunday with forecasts calling for sustained winds and gusts exceeding 50 mph. Rain totals were forecast to be anywhere between 1 and 3 inches.

The 11-race Saturday program included four graded stakes – the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and Grade 2 Flower Bowl on turf as well as the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom and the Grade 3 Vosburgh on dirt.

Those four races were to be brought back and run Thursday. Also scheduled to be run Thursday are the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint and the Grade 3 Winter Memories, which were scheduled for Sunday. All six stakes were scheduled to be redrawn Friday.

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Also, NYRA will add a live racing program on Wednesday, an eight-race card that will consist of overnight races that were carded for Saturday and Sunday. That card also was to be drawn Friday.

NYRA also announced that it will add a live racing day on Wednesday, Oct. 7. NYRA previously announced that it was going to run Wednesdays Oct. 14, 21, and 28 to make up for previously canceled days, one in Saratoga and two at Aqueduct in February.

Trainer Miguel Clement, in anticipation of a cancellation, was able to get in an additional workout into Joe Hirsch Turf Classic contender Far Bridge, breezing him on the turf late Friday morning at Belmont Park. Far Bridge, working in company with Don’t Jinx It, went a half-mile in 49.96 seconds, getting his final quarter in 23 seconds flat.

“I assumed we’re not going to run,” Clement said. “For fitness, I thought another work would definitely help us. I thought he looked great over the turf course. It might be a bit much, got a mile and a half first race back off a six-month layoff, but he’s won before off a long layoff in the Pan American earlier this year.”

Far Bridge, who won the 2024 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, was sidelined due to an injury following his victory in the Pan American in March.

The Joe Hirsch, which is a stepping-stone to the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf, had originally drawn a field of seven, including European shippers El Cordobes, Pride of Arras, and Fort George, in addition to domestic runners Minaret Station, Program Trading, and Asbury Park.

The Grade 2 Flower Bowl, which is a Win and You’re In race for the BC Filly and Mare Turf, originally drew a field of 11 that included Fionn, Sunlit Uplands, Favorite Memory, Kathynmarissa, Storm Miami, Opulent Restraint, Evershed, Esna, Silvology, Gezora, and Cathedral.

Tickets and pre-paid parking for Saturday and Sunday purchased directly through Ticketmaster, FEVO, or the NYRA Sales Team are eligible for a refund or ticket credit. Tickets purchased through third-party vendors are not eligible for refunds from NYRA. Fans must contact the original vendor directly.

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