#US RACING: BELMONT STAKES DAY BETTING CLOSE TO US$100 MILLION

NOTE – All figures in this article are in United States dollars.

The blockbuster Belmont Stakes day card at Belmont Park June 11 saw all-sources handle reach $98,766,906, a total down 12.4% from 2021.

While the 13-race card delivered star power Saturday with eight grade 1 races and nine graded stakes overall, four of those top-level races featured fields of six or fewer horses.

Standout performances from the likes of Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) winner Mo Donegal , Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1) winner Flightline , and Woody Stephens Presented by Mohegan Sun (G1) winner Jack Christopher  likely drew fans to the sport Saturday, the small fields probably limited wagering interest. Other than the COVID-19 year of 2020 when the Belmont was moved from its traditional date and shortened, the wagering total was the lowest since 2017.

The race day did see crowds begin to return to normal after fans were not allowed in 2020 and the New York Racing Association limited fans to just 11,238 last year. This year's crowd reached 46,301—the lowest in a non-COVID-19 year since 2010 as Belmont Park now faces some facility issues.

The construction of UBS Arena, which opened its doors to the public in November, has significantly altered and reduced the size of the Belmont Park backyard. As a result of this change to the property, Belmont is currently operating at fan capacity of 50,000.

That crowd generated on-track handle of $9,530,303—like the attendance the smallest figure in a non-COVID-19 year since 2010.

All-sources handle for the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1), carded as Race 11, reached $50,248,624. That figure is down 16.8% from last year.

The three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which featured 17 stakes and 33 races in total from June 9-11 generated all-sources handle of $127,810,604.