NYRA announces stakes schedule for the 2026-27 Belmont Park winter meet

Click here to view the complete stakes schedule.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the stakes schedule for the 2026-27 winter meet at Belmont Park, which will include 28 stakes races worth nearly $5.7 million in total purses.

The 2026-27 Belmont Park winter meet will open on Thursday, December 10 and continue into March with a definitive end date to be announced prior to the 2027 Wood Memorial and in conjunction with NYRA’s 2027 race dates. The one-mile Tapeta oval will be used as the exclusive surface for winter racing at the new Belmont Park while providing a year-round training option for horses stabled on the property.

Stakes action at the Belmont Park winter meet kicks off on Saturday, December 19 with a pair of six-furlong $150,000 events in the Say Florida Sandy for New York-breds and the Broadway for state-bred fillies and mares. Both races for 3-year-olds and up were previously run at seven furlongs.

The following Saturday, December 26 offers the 1 3/16-mile Grade 2, $250,000 Red Smith, shortened from 11 furlongs and moved from the turf to the Tapeta; and four opening legs of the Empire Trillium Series, a 14-race program of stakes races at Belmont Park and Woodbine Racetrack restricted to horses foaled in New York or Canada and worth $3.2 million in total purses.

The quartet of $200,000 Empire Trillium events includes the six-furlong Tiz the Law for juveniles and Bar of Gold for juvenile fillies, as well as the 1 1/16-mile Gander for juveniles and Saratoga Dew for juvenile fillies.

The first local stakes of 2027 is the 1 1/16-mile $150,000 Ladies for older fillies and mares on Friday, January 1.

Saturday, January 16, features four stakes, including the now 5 1/2-furlong Listed $175,000 Toboggan for older horses and Interborough for older fillies and mares at the same distance. The January 16 card is headlined by the 1 1/16-mile Listed $175,000 Withers for sophomores and $150,000 Busanda for sophomore fillies at the same distance, awarding 20-10-6-4-2 points towards the Kentucky Derby and Oaks, respectively. The Withers was previously nine furlongs, while the Busanda was one-mile.

Saturday, January 23 offers a pair of nine-furlong $300,000 legs of the Empire Trillium Series for 3-year-olds in the Long Island Derby and Long Island Oaks for fillies. The card also includes the state-bred $150,000 Alex Robb for older horses and Bay Ridge for older females, both increased by a sixteenth to 1 1/16 miles, as well as the 5 1/2-furlong $150,000 NYSSS Thunder Rumble for state-sired sophomores and Staten Island for state-sired sophomore fillies at the same distance. In 2026, the Thunder Rumble and Staten Island will be run on November 22 at seven furlongs on dirt for 3-year-olds and up.

A blockbuster program on Saturday, February 20 is headlined by the Grade 2, $500,000 Suburban [previously contested during the summer] at nine furlongs for older horses.  Among six stakes on the card are the Grade 3 Gotham, a 50-25-15-10-5 point event for the Kentucky Derby, with its purse increased from $300,000 to $400,000 and its distance increased from one mile to nine furlongs. The card is supported by the Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool for older horses at six furlongs; as well as the Listed $175,000 Top Flight at 1 1/16 miles and the $150,000 Correction at six furlongs, both for older females. The same program’s Listed $175,000 Busher offers 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Oaks points and is extended from one mile to 1 1/16 miles.

The following Saturday, February 27, brings a pair of six-furlong $200,000 Empire Trillium events: the Elmont for sophomores and the Queens Village for sophomore fillies.

The stakes schedule concludes with a pair of six-furlong $150,000 stakes for 3-year-olds, including the Ruthless for sophomore fillies on Saturday, March 13 and the Jimmy Winkfield on Sunday, March 14.

For the complete stakes schedule, please visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/stakes-schedule/.