The New York Racing Association has announced the $1 million Belmont Stakes (G1) will be contested June 20 at Belmont Park without fans, making it the opening leg of a series that has been shuffled by the COVID-19 pandemic.Aside from a new date and a reduction from last year’s purse of $1.5 million, the 152nd Belmont Stakes will also be run at a shorter distance of 1 1/8 miles around one turn, according to NYRA’s May 19 statement.
Originally scheduled for June 6 at 1 1/2 miles as the final race in the five-week-long Triple Crown chase for 3-year-olds, the Belmont Stakes will kick off a series typically known as the spring classics that will now span 15 weeks from the spring through the fall.
In response to the pandemic, the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) was shifted from May 2 to Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs and the Preakness Stakes (G1) was pushed back from