Belmont Park saw Secretariat move “like a tremendous machine” around its massive oval more than five decades ago when “Big Red” won the 1973 Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown in record-setting glory before tens of thousands of fans who packed the massive, quarter-mile grandstand.

Fast forward to today, and different tremendous machines are now moving through Belmont Park — tearing that massive grandstand down piece by piece as part of the biggest thoroughbred racetrack construction project in the United States in more than 40 years. Even the oval upon which Secretariat and four other Triple Crown winners made their runs for glory is undergoing a huge transformation in the name of progress, and stability in a sport in great need of it.

New York state provided some $455 million toward the endeavor, which the New York Racing Association (NYRA) sees as a transformative moment to rebuild Belmont Park to meet 21st century standards while again making it a major destination beyond the Belmont Stakes. The new Belmont Park will also become the sole downstate base for NYRA’s racing operations, featuring amenities to allow for year-round racing — and spelling the eventual end of Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.

“NYRA is the steward of this historic New York State property, and our goal as an organization is to create an open and accessible space that balances history while moving Belmont Park into the future,” said David O’Rourke, NYRA President and CEO, in a March announcement. “The transformation of Belmont is incredibly important to the future of racing downstate, and NYRA will deliver a facility that existing fans and the next generation will be proud to have in New York.”

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📝🎥: Robert Pozarycki

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