As the year 2023 comes to an end, the horse racing community has received some surprising news. The prestigious American Triple Crown races, famously called the Belmont Stakes, are seeing a major shift this year. Usually, the races take place at “The Championship Track“ at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

However, this year the track is currently under construction, so the race is set to see a shift at a premier racecourse. Although this decision is being applauded, the racecourse where the stakes have been shifted has a dark history looming over it.

Belmont Stakes changes its course this year

According to News 10, Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, is set to host the Belmont Stakes in 2024. “It’s a win for horseracing and for the Capital Region to have the excitement and the ability to host the four-day festival in June at America’s most historic track. As I said during the 2023 Saratoga Meet, ‘Let’s do it,” said NY Governor Kathleen Hochul. The Belmont Stakes could also be held at the racecourse in Saratoga in 2025 because of the construction process at Belmont Park.

The Belmont stakes will take place in June 2024, and will include 23 stakes races. The prize purses for the stakes will total a whopping $9.7 million, further fueling the anticipation of fans. Although the governor has applauded this shift, the focus is also drawn to the dark past of Saratoga Race Course, which is marred by a history of several horse deaths.

Dark horse racing history at the Saratoga Race Course

The Saratoga Race Course has seen nearly 200 horse deaths since 2009. According to PETA, the organization recorded 14 horse deaths this 2023 season alone. PETA highlighted that on August 26th, 2023, Nobel became the 13th horse and New York Thunder the 14th, whose lives were tragically lost on the track. The organization even urged the New York State Gaming Commission and NYRA to suspend all upcoming races so that a thorough investigation could be conducted and a solution could be found for the safety of the beautiful equine creatures.

The organization also pointed out how when twelve horse deaths at Churchill Downs this spring sent shockwaves through the horse racing community, the HISA—the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority—promptly shut down its spring meet.

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PETA urged that the same action and technology to ensure these incidents do not occur should be taken at Saratoga Race Course as well. With the upcoming Belmont Stakes set for 2024, do you think moving the race to Saratoga was a good decision? Comment below!

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