Belmont Park 5.58

Belmont Park is a major Thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont, New York, just outside New York City limits. It first opened on May 4, 1905. It is typically open for racing from late April through mid-July (known as the Spring meet), and again from mid-September through late October (the Fall meet).It is widely known as the home of the Belmont Stakes, regarded as the "Test of the Champion", the third leg of the Triple Crown.History of the TrackThe race park's main dirt track has earned the nickname, "the Big Sandy", given its prominent overall dimensions and the deep, sometimes tiring surface. Belmont is also sometimes known as "The Championship Track" because almost every major champion in racing history since the early 20th century has competed on the racecourse – including all of the Triple Crown winners. Along with Saratoga Race Course, in Upstate New York, Keeneland Race Course, in Lexington, Kentucky, Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky, and Del Mar and Santa Anita racecourses, in Southern California, Belmont is considered one of the elite racetracks in the sport.Belmont hosted its largest crowd in 2004, when 120,139 saw Smarty Jones upset by Birdstone in its Triple Crown bid.Belmont Park is operated by the non-profit New York Racing Association, as are Aqueduct and Saratoga Race Course. The group was formed in 1955 as the Greater New York Association to assume the assets of the individual associations that ran Belmont, Aqueduct, Saratoga Race Course, and the now-defunct Jamaica Racetrack.