Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Adds to a Special Spring (2024)

The 2024 Triple Crown races arrived just in time.

One year after a Triple Crown that saw attention drawn away from the races to equine safety, scratched horses, and even smoke from Canadian forest fires that threatened racing and training Belmont Stakes week, this year's edition has provided the annual boost that the industry has counted on for decades.

On the track, the Belmont Stakes (G1) will close this year's series with Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mystik Dan looking for revenge against Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Seize the Grey, who held him off in the middle jewel. Beyond those two, Kentucky Derby runner-up Sierra Leone returns in the Belmont—where he's the 9-5 morning-line favorite.

Short of the drama of a Triple Crown on the line, the Belmont will offer as much intrigue as you'd expect from a classic. And this year for the first time that drama will play out at historic Saratoga Race Course as Belmont Park goes through a rebuild. That change will help make the race extra special and FOX Sports is prepared to bring that spectacle to the nation from the country's oldest active sporting venue.

"First and foremost, we have great racing. We have a historical site: a shrine. We have historic Saratoga Race Course and the Belmont Stakes—two great events at one spot," said FOX Sports producer Pete Macheska, who is coordinating with Bill Richards in producing the Belmont show. "So you'll see a lot of the history at Saratogaon the FOX television program."

That historic move caps a Triple Crown that has been special at every turn.

Churchill Downs celebrated the 150th edition of the Kentucky Derby (G1) with a new paddock area that quickly became the place to be. The Derby's partnership with NBC continued to flourish and ratings were the highest for the race in 35 years. And, wagering from all sources on the Kentucky Derby Day program set a record of $320.5 million, well ahead of last year's mark of $288.7 million.

Perhaps most importantly for racing, the Derby brought in a large group of new players from the fast-growing sports betting side. Andrew Moore, general manager of racing for FanDuel Group, said that 200,000 FanDuel customers on Derby day bet on racing for the first time.

"Churchill deserves a lot of credit. They really invested in Derby 150. This has been a concept that they've been talking about for not just the last year, they've been thinking about Derby 150 for the last five years," Moore said. "At the track there's been incremental improvements to that venue each year and you go there now and it stands up as good as a sports venue or racetrack compared with anywhere you'd go. It's really impressive and I think the investment paid off."

The Preakness then followed with the largest television audience in three years. And while that facility continues to lag, at least Maryland has announced a plan that includes a new home for the middle jewel. There's a path forward.

Importantly, the series—in its first year completely under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority—has enjoyed a safe campaign to date.

And now the attention turns to the history of the Belmont Stakes being contested for the first time at Saratoga—the oldest sporting venue in the United States. The early returns are extremely promising as all-sources handle surpassed $18.16 million June 6, opening day of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival—shattering the previous record for the corresponding day of more than $10.3 million.

This year's attendance for the Thursday card ahead of Belmont reached 22,072, up from 2,822 in 2022 (there was no Thursday racing during Belmont week in 2023 due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires).

Special editions of races can be a draw—just as Derby 150 enjoyed. Caesars Sportsbook sent out this promotion to its customers June 7: "History is being made with the Belmont Stakes moving to Saratoga this year. And the race has drawn an incredible field to run at one of Thoroughbred racing's most famous tracks."

While everyone in racing is familiar with Saratoga, the spotlight of a Triple Crown race promises to bring in a more general audience. It's a chance for the New York Racing Association to introduce fans to the special Saratoga summer meeting.

Andy Serling, who appears on simulcasts and the FOX Sports broadcasts as NYRA's TV analyst and handicapper, said he's always conscious that introducing Saratoga to people could bring new fans to racing.

"It's something that's more than in the back of your head, I think it's more in the forefront of our head because let's be honest, there are not an enormous amount of opportunities in the game to introduce new people. You have Keeneland in Lexington and it happens at Del Mar and it certainly happens at Saratoga," Serling said. "And while we try to do it everyday as we're racing throughout the year, obviously the crowd is here in abundance. People see that and want to be a part of it.

"I walked into this place with no interest in racing in 1974. I'd been to the track with my dad a bunch of times; it did not interest me in the least. I walked into this place. And I looked around and said, 'OK, I get it.'And you know, it's been that way the rest of my life. It's 50 years since that summer, and so I can understand thatSaratoga has this ability."

Fans coming to the sport this year have witnessed plenty of excitement. The Derby delivered a three-horse photo that saw Mystik Dan prevail, lifting trainer Kenny McPeek to a sweep of the Kentucky Oaks (G1) (Thorpedo Anna) and Derby. That photo also included Japan-based Forever Young, who earned that country's first Derby placing when third behind Mystik Dan andSierra Leone in the 2024 version of the Fightin' Finish.

The Derby winner made the trip to Baltimore and ran well to finish second but in the Preakness the story would be 88-year-old trainer D. Wayne Lukas landing the 15th classic score of his Hall of Fame career as Seize the Grey posted a front-running win. And a close second to that feel-good story was the horse's MyRacehorse ownership that saw some 2,500 people directly share in that victory.

Which brings us to Saturday's race, a classic at Saratoga.