Belmont_Park

Belmont Park is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, Nassau County, New York, United States, just east of the New York City limits and the borough of Queens, on Long Island. It was opened on May 4, 1905, and is one of the major racetracks in the United States.
It is operated by the non-profit New York Racing Association, as are the Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course. The group was formed in 1955 as the Greater New York Association to assume the assets of the individual associations that ran Belmont, Aqueduct, Saratoga, and the now-defunct Jamaica Race Course.
Belmont Park is typically open for racing from late April through mid-July (known as the Spring meet), and again from mid-September through late October (the Fall meet). It is widely known as the home of the Belmont Stakes in early June, regarded as the "Test of the Champion", the third leg of the Triple Crown.
Along with Saratoga Race Course in Upstate New York, Keeneland and Churchill Downs in Kentucky, and Del Mar and Santa Anita in California, Belmont is considered one of the elite racetracks in North America.
The race park's main dirt track has earned the nickname, "the Big Sandy", given its prominent overall dimensions (1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km)) and the deep, sometimes tiring surface. Belmont is also sometimes known as "The Championship Track" because almost every major champion in racing history since the early 20th century has competed on the racecourse – including all of the Triple Crown winners. Belmont Park, with its big, wide, sweeping turns and long homestretch, is considered one of the fairest racetracks.
Belmont hosted its largest crowd in 2004, when 120,139 saw Smarty Jones upset by Birdstone in his Triple Crown bid.