Belmont Park, host of the June 6 Belmont Stakes (gr. I), has received full accreditation from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance.
Belmont is the third Thoroughbred track to receive full accreditation; Keeneland and Churchill Downs are the others. Pimlico Race Course was granted provisional accreditation. Delaware Park was inspected and reviewed, but the track’s accreditation status hasn’t been released.
The NTRA made the Belmont announcement May 29, a little more than a week before the third leg of the Triple Crown.
Like the other tracks, Belmont completed a 48-page application and underwent an on-site inspection. The on-site review was led by Dr. Ronald Jensen, racing official Richard Lewis; and Mike Ziegler, executive director of the alliance.
“Belmont has displayed an uncompromising commitment to the safety of the human and equine athletes who compete on its grounds,” NTRA president and chief executive officer Alex Waldrop said in a statement.
“Our inspection team was very impressed by the facility when we reviewed it during the current spring meeting,” Ziegler said. “Belmont, in fact, exceeded the alliance’s code of standards in several areas, including pre-and post-race examinations, injury reporting, equine ambulances, and security training.”
“The safety of our human and equine athletes is of paramount importance to all of us here at Belmont Park,” New York Racing Association president and CEO Charles Hayward said.
Saratoga, which holds its live meet beginning in late July, and Aqueduct, which races primarily in the fall and winter, will undergo the accreditation process as well, Hayward said.