Racing for June 9 has been canceled at Belmont Park due to potentially record-breaking temperatures, it was announced by New York Racing Association officials around 9:30 a.m. At 10 a.m., following training hours, it was 87 degrees.
The nine-race card featured the $60,000 Kelly Kip Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs for 2-year-olds.
Like much of the upper part of the nation, New York is under an unusual heat wave for early June. Temperatures at Belmont Park were in the low 90s on Wednesday and forecast to reach 95 later in the day.
The national weather service has issued an air quality alert for the New York metropolitan area effective from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. With the alert, the New York State Department of Health recommends limited strenuous outdoor physical activity.
The record high for this day in Elmont, N.Y., is 96 degrees, set in 1959.
There is good news ahead for the June 11 Belmont Stakes (gr. I). A cold front is slated to blow through Long Island at some point overnight and cool things off. The forecast for Friday is a high of 79 degrees and the forecast for Saturday, Belmont Stakes day, is delightful: A chance of showers and high of only 72 degrees.
