NYRA officials are "hopeful Saturday's Belmont stakes can draw a crowd of between 60,000 and 65,000 fans to Belmont Park" despite the fact that "there is no Triple Crown on the line," according to David Grening of DAILY RACING FORM. The race features a "showdown between Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness winner Shackleford, the first time since 2005 that winners of the first two legs of the Triple Crown have met in the Belmont." That race drew 62,274 fans, and NYRA President & CEO Charles Hayward Wednesday said that he is "hopeful that Saturday's race could draw a crowd similar to 2005." Grening noted last year, "when there was neither the Derby winner nor the Preakness winner in the Belmont, only 45,243 came out to witness Drosselmeyer's win" (DRF.com, 6/8).
DAY IN THE SUN: In N.Y., William Grimes writes if the "last couple years are any indication, about 50,000 fans will show up at Belmont Park on Saturday." Belmont "can handle a crowd twice the size, but it's an off year." No horse will run for the Triple Crown, "nor does the field appear to include the kind of budding superstars that set the public's imagination on fire." Grimes also notes "by nearly every measure, horse racing is in steep decline in New York, as it is throughout" the U.S. Every year, "less and less money is wagered at Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga, the three tracks operated" by NYRA. But Grimes writes on Saturday, "for one magic day, horse racing will dominate the sports news in New York" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/10).
