Greetings from Saratoga Springs! For those of you who unaware, due to renovations at Belmont Racetrack, this year’s Belmont Stakes is being held at Saratoga Racecourse for the first time in the race’s history. I’m lucky enough to be in attendance and writing to you from the track this morning.
While this year’s Belmont Stakes field isn’t anything special, the historic nature of this venue change is certain to elevate it, while also transforming it into a different event. From a sporting standpoint, cutting the race back to 1 ¼ miles makes it more closely resemble the Travers in August. There has been talk of shortening the marathon race for a long time, and while I can understand the temporary change to accompany Saratoga, I sincerely hope it doesn’t stay this way forever.