Belmont LIRR service extended through fall
Elmont, NY - Saturday June 23, 2012 - Newsday/ J. Cornad Williams Jr.: Horse number 5 ridden by Rajiv Maragh and 3 ridden by Ramon Dominguez making contact with each other at the last leg of the Mother Goose Grade 1 $300,000 race Saturday June 23, at Belmont Park in Elmont. Newsday/ J. Conrad Williams Jr. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams, Jr.
The Long Island Rail Road is partnering with the New York Racing Association to extend train service to Belmont Park through the ongoing fall race season.
The LIRR is offering two eastbound trains from Penn Station to Belmont Park and two returning trains on Wednesday to Sunday throughout the fall meet, which began on Saturday and lasts until Oct. 28.
The cost of operating the trains is being subsidized by NYRA under an extension of a deal between the agency and the LIRR that began in the spring of 2011. In 2010, the LIRR discontinued regular service to Belmont as a cost-cutting measure.
LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto said ridership to and from Belmont was up 37 percent during the 2012 spring meet, compared with last year.
“We are very pleased with our partnership with NYRA, which allows the LIRR to provide train service for racing fans while bringing in much-needed revenue to the Railroad,” Zambuto said in a statement. “We have been taking racing fans to Belmont Park for decades and we hope this partnership between our organizations will continue for decades to come.”
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