The New York Racing Association announced Dec. 18 its 2026 racing schedule, which includes 196 live race days at Aqueduct Racetrack, Saratoga Race Course, and the new Belmont Park.
In addition, NYRA has reached a multiyear agreement with the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and New York Thoroughbred Breeders designed to provide racing participants with additional certainty regarding racing opportunities and underscores NYRA's commitment to year-round racing during the transition to a reimagined Belmont Park.
Accordingly, NYRA has established the foundation of a 2027 racing schedule to include 203 live race days at Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park. The 2027 racing calendar will mark the return of the Belmont Stakes (G1) to Long Island. And for the first time since 2005, the Breeders' Cup World Championships will be contested at Belmont Park Oct. 29-30, 2027.
Following a three-year period of temporary adjustments to the schedule of racing at Saratoga (2024-26), NYRA will return to the traditional 40-day summer meet in 2027.
"NYRA has arrived at a schedule for the next two years that provides continuity in 2026 and significantly expands racing opportunities in 2027," said Andrew Offerman, NYRA senior vice president of racing and operations. "The two-year plan reflects NYRA's investment in a revitalized winter racing product at the new Belmont Park, where the availability of a Tapeta surface will improve field size and increase the quality of racing year-round. We will soon be entering a new era for racing downstate, and this agreement allows NYRA to focus its efforts on planning and implementing these racing calendars, continuing to improve the quality of racing opportunities for all participants in New York, and successfully reopening Belmont Park."
As part of the same forward-looking agreement, NYRA will be accelerating the implementation of comprehensive purse increases for all New York-bred overnight races. Originally scheduled for January 2027, these purse increases in races restricted to New York-breds will now be fully enacted in September 2026 to coincide with the reopening of Belmont Park. Throughout the 2026 calendar year, as previously announced, NYRA will increase purses in all New York-bred overnight races for 2-year-olds.
"This two-year agreement represents a significant step forward for every participant in the New York-bred program," NYTB executive director Najja Thompson said. "The significant increase in purses for all New York-breds with the reopening of Belmont Park will be enormously beneficial for breeding and racing in New York, which drives a broad and growing industry across the state. We're proud to have the best regional breeding program in the nation, and this announcement further strengthens our position."
Specific purse levels and details relative to these increases will be published in the first condition book for the summer meet at Saratoga and the first condition book for the fall meet at Belmont Park.
"We are very pleased to announce a landmark two-year calendar for New York racing," NYTHA president Tina Marie Bond said. "This ensures stability for New York owners, trainers, and other major stakeholders as we prepare to transition to the brand-new surfaces of the redeveloped Belmont Park. We will continue to work closely with NYRA to secure a healthy future for horse racing in the Empire State."
The ongoing construction of a new Belmont Park, which will reopen in September, will require certain adjustments to the customary NYRA racing schedule throughout 2026. The spring/summer meets traditionally held at Belmont Park will again take place at Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga will host the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival for the third and final time.
Highlighted by the 158th running of the $2 million Belmont Stakes June 6, the 2026 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be held at Saratoga from June 3-7.
The 2026 Aqueduct winter meet will open Jan. 1 and continue through March 30. Except for Jan. 8, live racing will be conducted Thursday-Sunday until Feb. 15 and Friday-Sunday from Feb. 20 through the end of March. The winter meet will offer 45 live race days in total.
The 2026 spring meet at Aqueduct will open April 2 and continue through April 26 with live racing conducted Thursday-Sunday. The spring meet will offer 15 live race days in total.
The 2026 Belmont at the Big A spring summer meet will open April 30 and continue through June 28. Live racing will generally be conducted Thursday-Sunday except for Memorial Day weekend and a period of dark days prior to the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga. The Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet will offer 33 live race days in total.
NYRA will honor the legacy of Aqueduct throughout 2026 and bid farewell to the storied venue with a series of events culminating on June 28. Additional details will be provided in early 2026.
At the conclusion of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet, the NYRA circuit will return to Saratoga for a 46-day summer meet to open with the July 4th Racing Festival from July 3-5.
To accommodate the 2026 calendar, Saratoga will then host a series of four-day racing weeks, Thursday through Sunday, from July 9-26, prior to the resumption of the five-day racing week beginning July 29. The 2026 summer meet will conclude with a six-day closing week from Sept. 2 through Labor Day, Sept. 7.
NYRA will unveil the new and reimagined Belmont Park when live racing returns to Elmont, N.Y., in September. Centered around a new grandstand and paddock, Belmont Park will offer four newly constructed racing surfaces including a 1-mile Tapeta track to be used for winter racing, off-the-turf races, and for training year-round.
Tentatively scheduled to begin Sept. 18, the Belmont Park fall meet will continue through Dec. 6, and offer 46 live race days in total. NYRA will provide additional details in the coming weeks and months regarding opening-day events and festivities to celebrate the new Belmont Park.
The 2026-27 Belmont Park winter meet will open Dec. 10, and will continue into 2027 following 11 days of live racing in December.
See the 2026 calendar of live race dates (pending New York State Gaming Commission approval).
Belmont Stakes Racing Festival Returns to Saratoga
NYRA also announced that historic Saratoga Race Course will host 51 days of world-class Thoroughbred racing in 2026, highlighted by the five-day Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga and a 46-day summer meet that will include the July 4th Racing Festival, which was held at Saratoga for the first time in 2025.
"Each summer, Saratoga Race Course stands at the center of the racing world," said David O'Rourke, NYRA president and CEO. "The 2026 season will be particularly special as we celebrate the final Saratoga edition of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and honor America's 250th anniversary at one of the country's most historic sporting venues. While Saratoga has served as the ideal temporary host for the Belmont Stakes and July 4th festivals, we look forward to returning to the traditional 40-day summer racing schedule at Saratoga in 2027."
To allow for the uninterrupted construction of Belmont Park, Saratoga will host the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival for the third and final time from June 3-7. It will be highlighted by the 158th running of the $2 million Belmont Stakes June 6.
Following the conclusion of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet, the NYRA circuit will return to Saratoga for a 46-day summer meet to open with the July 4th Racing Festival from July 3-5.
To accommodate the 2026 calendar, Saratoga will then host a series of four-day racing weeks, Thursday through Sunday, from July 9-26, prior to the resumption of the five-day racing week beginning July 29. The 2026 summer meet will conclude with a six-day closing week from Sept. 2 through Labor Day, Sept. 7.
With the new Belmont Park to reopen in September for live racing, 2026 will mark the final year of adjustments to the customary racing schedule at Saratoga. This period of transition began in 2024 when NYRA held a four-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival in Saratoga for the first time. In 2025, NYRA expanded the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival to five days and shifted the July 4th Racing Festival to the Spa, resulting in 49 days of live racing during the 2025 season.
In 2027, Belmont Park will once again host the Belmont Stakes and July 4th Racing Festivals, while Saratoga Race Course will revert to its traditional 40-day summer meet.
"We are excited to have one more opportunity to showcase our amazing community to the world by hosting the Belmont Stakes and July 4th Festivals," said Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce president Todd Shimkus. "To kick off the Belmont Festival, we will again host a Belmont on Broadway concert free for locals and visitors to our community, and the July 4th All American Celebration to add to the festivities at the track. These two festivals helped drive up revenue at local hotels, restaurants, bars, stores and shops throughout the area, in 2025, and the same will be true as our historic run hosting these events concludes in 2026."
Belmont Park will reopen for live racing in September 2026. In addition to the return of the Belmont Stakes to its Long Island home in 2027, Belmont Park has been selected to host the 2027 Breeders' Cup World Championships in October 2027, which will mark the first edition of the Breeders' Cup to be held in New York State since 2005.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
