NYRA

The Whitney Viewing Stand at Saratoga's Oklahoma Training Track will open to the public beginning Thursday, Apr. 25, the New York Racing Association said in a release Wednesday afternoon. Prior to the start of the summer meet, the site will be open free of charge from Thursday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. ET. The Oklahoma Training Track is accessible to pedestrians through Gate 21 on East Avenue. Parking is not currently available within the Oklahoma grounds. The opening of the Whitney Viewing Stand also coincides with the...

Expected to require four to six months of work, on Friday, Apr. 5 the New York Racing Association, Inc. will embark on the initial stages of the demolition of the current Belmont Park grandstand and clubhouse, the track said in a release Thursday. To bring down a 1.25 million square foot building will require a host of engineers and experts tasked with deliberately removing usable materials from a building that opened to the public in 1968. A total of 75 percent of the materials will be recycled including concrete, steel,...

Track announcer John Imbriale has announced that he will retire following a 44-year career with the New York Racing Association. Imbriale's tenure with NYRA dates to 1979 when he won a New York Daily News contest, giving him the opportunity to call a race and work with the NYRA press office. In 1990, the Queens, New York native became Tom Durkin's backup and along the way, took on other responsibilities at NYRA by working with Harvey Pack on the Inside Racing program, and in a variety of roles within NYRA...

DraftKings Inc. and the New York Racing Association, Inc. have made an agreement to establish the digital sports and gaming company as an official betting partner of both Saratoga Race Course and the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, as well as the presenting sponsor of the GI Travers S., the track said in Thursday release. Under the sponsorship, DraftKings's advance deposit wagering offering--DK Horse--will play a prominent role throughout the festival. Along with the DraftKings Travers, NYRA's new partner will also become the presenting sponsor for the GI DK Horse Acorn...

Linda Rice continued to assert her dominance on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit when capturing the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet training title with 23 wins at the 45-day meeting which ran from Jan. 1 through Mar. 30. Rice has now won the training title at six of the last seven NYRA meetings, along with year-end honors last year as the circuit's top trainer with a record-tying 164 wins. She also came out on top at last year's Big A winter meet with 37 wins. "It's great," said...

Highlighted by the 155th GI Travers S. Aug. 24 and the GI Whitney S. Aug. 3, the 40-day Saratoga meet features 19 Grade I races as part of 71 stakes worth $20.75 million in total purses, the New York Racing Association said concerning the release of the schedule on Friday. Following the four-day opening week, which starts on Thursday July 11, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from closing week, when the 2024 summer meet will conclude on Monday, Sept. 2. Saratoga Live, the...

With a strong coastal storm predicted to impact the New York metropolitan area Friday evening and into the majority of Saturday, Aqueduct has moved the Saturday card to Sunday, officials at the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Thursday. Highlighted by the $100,000 Biogio's Rose S., Saturday's eight-race card will move in its entirety to Sunday, while the original Sunday races will be carded as extras beginning Thursday, Mar 28. First post Sunday will be 1:20 p.m. EDT. Aqueduct Racetrack will remain open for simulcasting on Saturday.

Reserved tables in the Saratoga Race Course picnic paddock will be sold exclusively through a random drawing for Belmont Stakes Day on Saturday, June 8, the New York Racing Association, Inc. announced Thursday. As is the case during the 40-day summer meet, the vast majority of Saratoga's backyard picnic tables -- approximately 700 -- will be available on a first-come, first-served basis throughout the four-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Fans may enter the picnic paddock random drawing at BelmontStakes.com beginning Monday, Mar. 25. Approximately 100 picnic tables will be available...

Season tickets and passes for the 2024 Saratoga summer race meet will become available to the general public Wednesday, March 20. The sale, announced by NYRA Monday, will begin at 10am and includes admission along with reserved seating in the clubhouse or grandstand. Season passes grant access to the track for all 40 race days including the GI Travers S. and can be purchased for $95. "Season ticket plans allow fans to secure some of the best seats in the house for all 40 days of the Saratoga meet," said...

Michael F. Prunetti, a veteran NYRA employee, passed away March 15 at the age of 77. Remembered by his NYRA colleagues in a note released Saturday, Prunetti spent over 40 years as a racing official around New York tracks including time as the Assistant Racing Secretary. "What a kind gentleman he was," recalled NYRA Stakes Coordinator Andrew Byrnes. "Mike took the time to teach me how to do things the right way. I learned a tremendous amount under him. He was one of the best. He was a jewel." Prunetti...

The annual state budget proposed by the New York State Assembly includes an initiative that would establish a new partnership between Cornell University and the New York Racing Association, Inc (NYRA) to enhance equine safety through the use of advanced imaging technology. The budget calls for NYRA to make an initial investment of $2 million to purchase the necessary equipment. The ongoing project will be funded by assessing the most successful out-of-state ADW platforms. The racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law will be amended by adding a new section 902-a...

The Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga Race Course will open Thursday, Apr. 18, officials at the New York Racing Association (NYRA), with the barn area opening to licensed trainers and staff from Monday, Apr. 15. As Saratoga prepares to host the 2024 Belmont Stakes Fesitval June 6-9, the main track will open one month earlier than customary on Monday, May 6. Due to the ongoing construction at Belmont Park, there will be significant changes to the usual NYRA training schedule. The Belmont main track will remain closed for training through...