The mountains of dirt are back at New York's Belmont Park.
They became part of the sports complex's landscape in 2019 when construction began on the 19,000-seat UBS Arena at Belmont Park, home to the NHL's New York Islanders. The project chewed up about half of the historic horse track's backyard and a parking area behind its grandstand.
Now it is the racetrack's turn to begin a renovation process that in the next five years will transform Belmont Park into an ultramodern facility built for the realities of racing in the 2020s and beyond, reported BloodHorse Daily, a publication devoted to the sport.
"It's going to be an incredible complex once we finish," said Glen Kozak, the New York Racing Association's (NYRA) senior vice president of operations and capital projects.
The first step in bringing beautiful Belmont Park and its 54-year-old grandstand into the modern era began a few months ago with the construction of retaining walls that would allow a tunnel to the infield to be built.
The second part of that process is currently under way with the task of excavating the dirt and setting the concrete for a 504-ft.-long, 48-ft.-wide tunnel from the backstretch to the infield that will be 33 ft. underground.
"It's a massive excavation of sand," Kozak explained. "Fortunately, there is good product out there, so the excavation has been fairly quick."
While the tunnel ultimately will enable patrons to enter the infield from the racetrack's parking lots and Long Island Railroad station, for now it will allow construction equipment to drive into the infield. That will allow infrastructure work to be done, paving the way for work in the next few years when NYRA will rebuild its main dirt track and two turf courses as well as add a fourth track topped by a synthetic Tapeta surface.
"On one side it will be a pedestrian tunnel and [on] the other a vehicular path so that we can get trucks and other vehicles through it," noted Kozak, adding, "Obviously, it's multi-purposed. It gives us access to the infield so that we can continue construction while everything is going on over a multi-year span and we are not damaging the surfaces by driving over them to get to the infield."
Additionally, the tunnel will allow infield work to be finished without damaging the main track and turf courses that will re-open for racing and training next spring.
While the tunnel is expected to be finished by the end of November, the infrastructure work will be a lengthier process, according to BloodHorse. Before work on any of the tracks begins, Kozak explained that contractors have many projects to tackle, such as building a lined infield pond for irrigation, along with a pump station, and doing all the electrical work to connect with a power grid that was previously installed for the arena and the complex.
Racing, Training Adjust to Park's Renovation
Although the upcoming Belmont Park fall race meet was moved to Aqueduct Racetrack due to the construction work, race training will continue daily. With the tunnel positioned near the three-quarters pole, shadow fencing will be put up at the 11/16ths and 13/16ths poles, allowing horses to gallop on turf and dirt over 11 of the track's 12 furlongs.
"We're losing about an eighth of a mile for training, so we are adding another outrider position to help with that," explained Kozak. "We want to accommodate the trainers during this time because we realize it is an inconvenience for them, and [the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association] has done a great job of helping us deal with it."
Once the tunnel work is wrapped up, he said the next phase will consist of covering the underground pathway with the proper dirt for each course so that Belmont can resume normal activities in 2023.
Following that, once racing moves upstate to Saratoga Race Course in July for the 2023 meet, work on the courses should begin. Kozak said the order for working on the three existing tracks and adding the fourth one has yet to be determined. He said a schedule detailing what Belmont's next steps will be are being prepared for the NYRA board.
"But with the tunnel in place, we can decide if we will work on putting in a fourth track first or redoing a turf or dirt course first," he told BloodHorse. "To get four tracks done in a year's time is unrealistic. We don't want to lose a Belmont Stakes, so we are looking at the best scenario for phasing all of this to have the least amount of impact on the horsemen. There will be a tunnel to the grandstand, but that's coming later. Our goal is to do the infrastructure work and get the turf courses back together and the main track back together so that we can have spring racing and training at Belmont."
Once the surfaces are finished, the final phase, and the most meaningful one for fans, will get under way with the renovation of a grandstand and clubhouse structure with a length as long as the Empire State Building is tall.
New Belmont Park to Be Smaller, But Expandable
For New York racing fans in their mid-60s and older, the construction at Belmont is resurrecting dusty memories of 1963-67, when the original Belmont Park was razed and a racetrack that first opened its doors in 1905 was remodeled to include a magnificent grandstand for the huge crowds that would stream into the building on a regular basis.
After the 1970 season, though, off-track wagering was introduced at Belmont Park and as it became increasingly popular, attendance began an ugly downward spiral. Now, more than half of the cavernous building is deserted on most days, and NYRA officials understand the key to a successful future for New York racing is a consolidation of downstate racing at Belmont Park in a smaller, year-round facility with the modern amenities sports fans covet.
"When we right-size the building, our goal is to be able to have it set up like other venues, where we have the ability to expand it on big days but to also have it where it's more efficient and with the right amenities on a daily basis," Kozak said. "The key is to have something that is functional for the daily operation and have the ability to ramp up for events like the Belmont Stakes or the Stars and Stripes or [the time] when we're able to get the Breeders' Cup back."
Today's top stories
