When: June 9, 2012
Where: Belmont Park, NY
TV Coverage: NBC Sports
The Belmont Stakes traditionally takes place every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. As the third and final leg in horse racing’s Triple Crown the event always occurs five weeks after the Kentucky Derby and two weeks after the Preakness Stakes. While the Belmont Stakes itself is the ‘main event’ of the racing weekend there are several prestigious stakes races contested on the ‘undercard’ every year.
The 2012 Belmont Stakes will take place on Saturday, June 9 with live television coverage of the race itself on NBC Sports. NBC has made a strong commitment to covering horse racing of late so you can expect coverage of many of the events leading up to the Belmont Stakes on NBC Sports (formerly Versus). As always there will be full analysis and pre and post race coverage on the dedicated horse racing networks TVG and HRTV. For those looking to attend the race live, gates open at 8:30 AM. In addition to the highly sought after reserved seating Belmont Park admits thousands of fans via general admission on a first come, first served basis.
The stakes races on the Belmont undercard are as follows:
–The ‘Just A Game’ Stakes: Named after the top filly of 1980, the Just A Game Stakes is a Grade 1 race held on the turf course over a distance of one mile with a purse of $400,000. The event is open to fillies and mares three years and older. The 2011 race was won by CS Silk with jockey Javier Castellano.
–The Woodford Reserve Manhattan Stakes: Sponsored by the Woodford Reserve bourbon distillery, this race is also held on Belmont’s turf course over a mile and a quarter distance for fillies and mares three years old and up. This race has a purse of $400,000 and is traditionally run immediately before the Belmont Stakes. The 2011 upset winner was Mission Approved who went off at 21/1 with jockey Jose Espinoza up top.
–The ‘True North’ Handicap: Named for True North, winner of the 1945 Fall Highweight Handicap, this is a Grade 2 race for horses 3 years old and up over six furlongs. The 2011 winner was Trappe Shot with jockey John Velasquez.
–The Woody Stephens Stakes: Named for the Hall of Fame trainer, The Woody Stephens Stakes is contested by 3 year olds at a distance of seven furlongs. The 2011 winner was Justin Phillip with jockey Ramon Dominguez.
Note that the G1 Acorn Stakes which was held as part of the Belmont Stakes undercard last year has been moved to May 28th.
The main event of the day is the Belmont Stakes itself—it is a Grade 1 race over a mile and a half distance on a dirt track for three year old fillies and mares with a purse of $1,000,000. The live coverage of the event on ABC begins at 5:00 PM though the actual post time varies. The defending Belmont Stakes champion is Ruler On Ice who won the race for trainer Kelly Breen with jockey Jose Valdivia, Jr. manning the reins.
Television coverage of the 2012 Belmont Stakes will begin at 5:00 PM Eastern on NBC Sports TV in the United States. The network will show both the Belmont Stakes and the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Stakes live.
The Belmont Stakes betting racing card is scheduled to get underway at 11:35 AM Eastern with a total of five stakes races on a 13 race card. The tentative post time for the Belmont Stakes is 6:35 PM Eastern.