Floral Park, Garden City await Belmont

The 143rd running of the Belmont Stakes in Elmont will have a pair of nearby communities cheering from the sidelines again this year.

The night before the third leg of the Triple Crown, Garden City and Floral Park will be stoking Stakes fever with street fairs featuring special guests, including jockeys.

Up to 10,000 people are expected to fill Garden City's downtown area, while Floral Park is expecting about 3,000.

Both communities claim an affinity with the 11/2-mile race known as the Test of Champions. "The owners and trainers typically stay at Garden City Hotel, as well as race-day] guests," says Mary Dolan Grippo, spokewoman for the Garden City event. "A lot of trainers, owners and jockeys live in Garden City," she adds.

Floral Park has an even closer connection -- so to speak. A number of backyards in the community border the track, says Kathleen Duggan, a fair organizer and owner of Jack Duggan's Pub and Restaurant in Floral Park.

GARDEN CITY

Garden City offers a number of Belmont tie-ins. It begins with a blast -- from Belmont's Sammy the Bugler, who will blow a "Call to Post" at 6:30p.m. Former jockey Richard Migliore, who grew up on Long Island and retired last year after a spectacular fall that ended a 30-year career with more than 4,400 wins, will emcee the festival. Migliore is now a broadcast analyst for the New York Racing Association.

A Belmont starting gate also will make an appearance, first on the Garden City Hotel grounds, later at the fairgrounds, Dolan Grippo says.

Posters by local school kids, depicting thoroughbreds and the track, will hang in storefront windows along Seventh Street and Franklin Avenue. About a half-dozen local restaurants are supplying the chicken for a "wing-off." (For a $5 donation, you get a plate of wings and a ballot.) Proceeds benefit Operation Wounded Warrior, which assists injured U.S. military personnel. And the Islanders will set up a Slap Shot hockey booth for kids.

You can wander from one music genre to another as five local bands perform at stages throughout the area. Listening choices include the rock band Fivestone, Jerry & the Newcomers, New Vintage Swing Band, Speak Easy and the Village Music Makers.

However, the parade that had featured horses in the past has been canceled this year because of budget cuts, Dolan Grippo said. But a raffle winner will get to see them for real with a prize package valued at $500 that includes two tickets to the Stakes, including food and beverage, parking and programs.

FLORAL PARK 

Although smaller and lacking in Belmont star-power, Floral Park's event can put you in a seat on Stakes day, too. Four Stakes tickets valued at $480 will be raffled off at 9 p.m. The winner gets preferred parking, an official racing program and preferred seating on the clubhouse third floor.

New this year: a texting and driving simulator geared toward teen drivers will show how dangerous that habit is. Not to be outdone, the Floral Park Fire Department is setting up a simulator that teaches kids how to escape if their house is ablaze.

Local restaurants will set up stations on the street serving goodies like shepherd's pie, chicken pot pie, Italian sausages -- and burgers, of course. Irish dancers will perform, as will four live bands -- one more than last year, Duggan says.

Garden City Belmont Festival

WHEN | WHERE 6-10 p.m. Friday, Seventh Street, Garden City

INFO 516-571-1936

ADMISSION Free

Floral Park Belmont Festival

WHEN | WHERE 5-10 p.m. Friday, Tulip Avenue, Floral Park

INFO 516-512-0459

ADMISSION Free