LIRR to restore service to Belmont Park

The Long Island Rail Road will restore train service to and from Belmont Park -- with some financial help from the New York Racing Association -- in time for this Friday's opening of the race season, LIRR and racing officials said.

Under the unique agreement, NYRA will subsidize the cost of operating the daily service, which was axed last year as a cost-saving measure for the LIRR.

"This is a unique opportunity for us to restore service to Belmont with a new partner," LIRR spokesman Joe Calderone said. "We're hopeful that more people will take advantage of it than in the past."

The agreement covers only the spring meet, which lasts through July 17. LIRR officials have said it cost about $112,000 to offer the service in 2009, the last year it operated, for the spring and fall race seasons.

NYRA spokesman Dan Silver declined to say how much money the association is paying the LIRR to operate the trains.

But, Silver said, racing officials are expecting a big increase in attendance at Belmont this season because of the shutdown of New York City Off-Track Betting last December. Live attendance at the Aqueduct Racetrack was up 50 percent for this year's winter/spring meet compared to 2010, Silver said.

"We're hoping that the increased attendance is going to offset any cost for us," said Silver, who said the OTB closure has resulted in some fans rediscovering the live racing experience. "I think people are able to better connect with the sport when they physically come to the track."

SEE PHOTOSLIRR trains and commuters through the years

Belmont attendance has dwindled in recent years. The 418,000 people who visited Belmont during the spring and fall meets last year were the fewest in at least 10 years.

Before it was eliminated, about 100 people a day used the "Belmont Special" service, which consisted of two daily trains from Penn Station to Belmont, and two trains back. The one-way off-peak fare from Penn Station to Belmont is $7.25, and the ride takes 33 minutes.

More details on the deal and the service will be released at a Penn Station news conference that is being held by LIRR and racing officials Tuesday.

To further help race fans using public transportation, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority also announced Monday that, beginning Friday, the Q2 and Q110 buses in Queens also will pick up and drop off customers at Belmont Park.