One of the largest and most important horse races of the year is returning to Upstate New York in 2026.
If you follow the world of horse racing, you already know that there are three big races every year that make up the Triple Crown. There’s the Preakness, the Kentucky Derby, and the Belmont Stakes, which has run in New York for over 150 years. For the last two years, the Belmont Stakes, which is normally hosted at Belmont Park, has been held at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga, New York, while the park in Elmont, N.Y., undergoes construction.
The massive construction project at Belmont Park has been underway for a couple of years and is scheduled to open to the public in September 2026, a few months after the yearly Belmont Stakes, which runs in June every year. In an effort to make sure it can continue without interruption, New York officials have announced that the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will return to Saratoga, NY, one more time.
Belmont Stakes in New York
The third time will be the charm as the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will return to Saratoga Race Course in June 2026 for the third and final year to allow for uninterrupted construction of a new Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., according to WRGB.
Belmont Stakes Returns to Saratoga, New York
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will return to Saratoga Race Course in June 2026 for a third and final year, saying,…