Belmont Stakes ready to welcome more than 11,000 spectators
One year after the COVID-19 pandemic closed the Belmont Stakes to spectators, more than 11,000 fans are set to head back to the races Saturday for the third leg of the Triple Crown.
"It's a symbol that things are getting back to normal," Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said at a kickoff news conference Friday outside the Garden City Hotel. "We can go and watch the horses, and talk and socialize, and eat and drink semi-normally. It feels wonderful."
The 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes is also an economic engine for the county as spectators spend money at nearby hotels, restaurants and retail stores.
Grady Colin, managing director of the Garden City Hotel, said they're sold out this weekend, with many people on a waiting list for a room.
"And that has not happened in a very long time," Colin said.
Although far from capacity — Belmont could host up to 90,000 fans during a regular year — the 11,000 spectators in attendance for the Stakes will be the largest in-person racing event in New York since the pandemic began.
The 1.5-mile race went on last year but without fans, costing the county, and the region, millions in economic revenue.
"It's critically important not just for businesses today but in the future," said Richard Kessel, chairman of Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, a sponsor of the Belmont Stakes.
Belmont Park will have vaccinated sections where fans, many in wide-brimmed hats, will be permitted to take off their masks and sit closely together. Fans in the unvaccinated sections must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, and wear masks and socially distance from one another. Temperature checks will be performed at entry.
Tickets are required in advance and only a few seats remain in the vaccinated sections, according to Jeffrey Cannizzo, senior director of government affairs for the New York Racing Association.
"We are happy to have that many fans back to kick-start racing," Cannizzo said.
The Long Island Rail Road says 11 different trains will be running to get fans to the Belmont Stakes.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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