Whoa!

Long Island officials stake claim to Belmont track

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) -- "New York, New York" is the Belmont Stakes' anthem -- just as "My Old Kentucky Home" and "Maryland, My Maryland" celebrate the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

But racing officials might want to look to someone like Long Islander Billy Joel to pen a new theme, since the race doesn't actually take place in New York City, but rather just across the border in Nassau County.

"When they have the Kentucky Derby in Kentucky, it's the biggest event of the year. When they have the Belmont Stakes here in Nassau County, people think it's in Queens," said Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, who joined tourism, racing officials and local elected leaders at a news conference Friday to claim bragging rights to the race and track.

"We want people to know very, very clearly that the Belmont Stakes is located right here in our home ... right here on Long Island."

Well, not entirely.

A Suozzi aide conceded that 10 percent to 15 percent of the track's parking lots are actually in Queens, although the track and grandstand straddle another border, between the villages of Elmont and Floral Park in Nassau.

The track's address on the New York Racing Association Web site is listed as Elmont.

The race -- now one of the oldest in the United States -- was first run in 1867 at Jerome Park in the New York City borough of the Bronx before being moved to Morris Park Racecourse. It remained there until moving again in 1905 to Belmont Park in Elmont.

Michael Hollander, president of the Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the race helps pump "about $12 to $14 million" into the Long Island economy.

"It also gives us a lot of international recognition," Hollander said. "When people are talking about a Triple Crown event and they're talking about the Belmont Stakes, they're talking about Long Island."

To bolster their geographic claim, local villages like Garden City and Floral Park held parades and street festivals Friday tied to the Belmont theme.

William Nader, NYRA senior vice president, said, "It's great to hear Nassau County ... feel that pride and energy about the association with Belmont Park and the Belmont Stakes. That's long overdue and we really appreciate that."

Suozzi said he understands how people may have mistaken the track's location since it is so close to Queens. "I think it's just something that happened over time," he said.

"New York City's got Broadway, and New York City has the Metropolitan Museum, and New York City has the Yankees and Mets. They've got enough. Belmont Park is here in Nassau County and we're going to embrace this park and we're going to embrace this event on an annual basis," Suozzi said.

"It's the Taj Mahal of racetracks in the world, and it's right here in our hometown."

 

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