By Michael Fenrich
It was a special Saturday in New York on May 16, 2020. Several months into this Coronavirus Covid 19 pandemic things can start to resume with safety precautions.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that horse racing at Belmont can start up again in June. The horse racing can be televised for the fans, there won’t be fans at beautiful Belmont Park. The majestic horses will help so many who have been effected by this pandemic.
The Saturday announcement was made on the day that would have been the second part of the Triple Crown the Preakness, which is held at Pimlico Racetrack in Maryland. Even with no Preakness the news about Belmont was special so they can run the equine athlete again. Even with no racing in New York for these several months trainers, hot walkers and grooms have been working hard to help take care of the horses during this health crisis.
Later on Saturday, NBC showed the 2015 Preakness where American Pharoah won, then eventually several weeks later in 2015 won the Belmont Stakes to end the long wait for a Triple Crown winner as American Pharoah became the 12th Triple Crown winner.
Mike Tirico hosted the special replay show as they looked back at the 2015 Preakness. At the conclusion of the show there was a special announcement by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan that the 2020 Preakness would be run Saturday, October 3.
With Belmont starting June 3, the Belmont Stakes will now be run Saturday, June 20 with no fans in attendance. It will now be the first of the Triple Crown races this year. The distance is now a 1 1/8 miles instead of the whole mile and a half track that made it the unique challenge. The purse is now 1 million instead of 1.5 million.
What a great Saturday October 3,2020 it will be for sports fans as The Preakness will be run on NBC, soon after in prime time Notre Dame Football will play Wisconsin at legendary Lambeau field also on NBC.
When Belmont resumes racing in June viewers can watch the racing on different platforms and on America’s Day At The Races on FOX Sports One and FOX Sports Two respectively. Please visit www.nyra.com for the latest news.
Things are changing daily from the way the world and everyone does things in the new future. It is a good time to start new and be more safe with daily routines in life.
The Triple Crown may change the dates but the equine athletes will still run for us.