The new Belmont Park, just outside New York City, reopens Friday not merely as a racetrack but also as a host for a range of events, including large concerts and intimate performances. At least that is the vision of the New York Racing Association, which bet $550 million on its makeover.
The organization could not have rebuilt it without a $455 million loan from the state that was championed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. She intends to be at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning about 14 hours after watching her hometown Buffalo Bills in their new $2.1 billion Highmark Stadium.
“From Buffalo to Belmont we are investing in sports, which is a point of pride for New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said in an interview. “Live racing in a world-class, cutting-edge structure I thought was a smart use of land.”
Horse racing is surging as deep-pocketed owners are setting records for spending at horse sales, thanks to a tax break in President Trump’s major spending and tax bill that was signed into law last year. The provision — called a bonus depreciation — lets businesses immediately deduct the full cost of certain assets, like machinery and equipment, to enhance their cash flow.
It now applies to racehorses, and it is helping turn these animals into a hot investment for wealthy people. Last year, owners spent nearly $1.5 billion in North America in pursuit of fast racehorses, a nearly 21 percent increase from 2024.
New construction and renovation have also been done on signature racetracks in Kentucky and Maryland. But at a time when horse bets can be placed with a few taps on a phone, the big question is whether people will go out to spend a day at the races.
In its heyday, more than 20,000 people filled the Belmont Park building on weekends and the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown, often drew more than 100,000. It was considered the grand old racetrack on Long Island with its mile-and-a-half oval and imposing grandstand.
The new Belmont Park was designed for a thriving sport with a more modest hold on the public. The five-story, 300,000-square-foot building accommodates 10,000 people in its seats, suites and restaurants, but can be expanded with temporary structures to handle the demand for the Belmont Stakes, which in recent years was held at the Saratoga Race Course and capped at 50,000 attendees. It offers a smaller, more European-style experience, with plenty of green space. And the building is ringed with balconies overlooking the paddock and the racetrack that also offer views of Manhattan.
While everyday horse players can still get general admission tickets for as little as $7, the prices get steeper for more premium experiences. Box-seat memberships go for $36,000 to $72,000 a year and include hospitality. Ninety percent of those seats have been sold, according to N.Y.R.A. officials. More than half of the 32 Champion Suites, which can fit 16 to 50 people and start at $175,000 annually, have been sold on a multiyear basis. They also include food and drink and are equipped with flat screens and betting windows.
Marc Holliday, chairman of the N.Y.R.A. board of directors, said the association’s goal was to “right size” Belmont Park with a modern design and to offer best-in-class hospitality and experiences. He said he wanted it to be different from Saratoga, which is one of the nation’s oldest sporting venue.
“Saratoga will always be known for its history and the nostalgic day of racing,” said Mr. Holliday, who is also chief executive of SL Green Realty Corp. “ I wanted downstate to be something completely oriented towards the future and kind of a new beginning for horse racing.”
David O’Rourke, the chief executive of N.Y.R.A., said the old Belmont Park, which opened in 1968, had been built strictly for gambling on horses. At the time, there were no competing casinos, and legalized sports betting was half a century away.
He said the downsized Belmont Park had been designed to be an “entertainment zone,” hosting big concerts in its infield or smaller performances, like plays, in the track’s paddock where horses are prepared before a race.
Mr. O’Rourke said the new Belmont would benefit from its neighbor, the UBS Arena, home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. The two now share a backyard, where the new Big Red’s sports bar offers easily accessible pregame hospitality for both venues.
“Now the intention will be to see how the patrons interact with it,” he said. “Is it the backyard where we’re going to have playgrounds and a kid’s zone? And as people start to experience it and use it, that’s how we’re going to move forward with the investment and the things that we’ll add to it.”
Still, for 10 months a year, Belmont Park’s main attraction will remain horse racing. The $455 million loan was given on the condition that N.Y.R.A. return Aqueduct racetrack in Queens and its more than 100 acres of land to the state. With the financing, the association razed the old Belmont and built four new racing surfaces: a renovated 1.5-mile oval along with two new grass tracks and a synthetic one that will host winter racing.
N.Y.R.A. will repay the state $25.8 million annually for 20 years with money from its video lottery capital funds — a designated percentage of revenues from downstate facilities such as Resorts World New York City Casino at Aqueduct — to pay for race purses, capital improvements and operational support.
On Friday, the equine star of Belmont Park is Forever Young, a Japanese racehorse widely considered the best in the world. He has won more than $31 million in purses, racing in Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United States, and is the favorite to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup on Friday.
Forever Young’s handlers are impressed with the new facilities.
“Belmont Park is the best complex for training now in North America,” said Hiroshi Ando, racing manager for the horse’s owner, Susumu Fujita. “We have a lot of options with main track, training track, Tapeta track, small track.”
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