All traditional and upscale seating "is sold out" for the June 7 Belmont Stakes, where California Chrome will bid to become the horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner, according to David Grening of DAILY RACING FORM. But NYRA President & CEO Chris Kay said that there "will be a pavilion on the clubhouse side that will have a 230-person capacity with seating priced at $1,000 per ticket" and that NYRA will be "adding 1,000 bleacher seats in upper stretch -- adjacent to the picnic area -- which will cost $250 per seat." Kay added that he and his staff are "monitoring ticket sales and said that general admission may not be available for purchase the day of the race." Kay as of Wednesday had "not yet defined what number he and his staff feel is the cut-off point for sales." The record crowd for a Belmont Stakes is 120,139. Kay said that he is "not looking to cram as many people into Belmont as possible." Kay: "I’m more committed to people having a great time than breaking a record for attendance, particularly since some of the attendance records from the past, I’m not sure how reliable they are." He added that NYRA is "hiring 1,000 additional personnel to join the current 1,000-person workforce to deal with the crowd" (DRF.com, 5/28). BLOODHORSE's Teresa Genaro noted plans for a "revamped Belmont Stakes day were well in the works before California Chrome won the Preakness Stakes." Kay said that 80% of the seats available "were sold before the Kentucky Derby" (BLOODHORSE.com, 5/29).
