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NYRA Press Release
Updated: September 06, 2023

2023 Belmont at the Big A Fall Meet | Sep 14 - Oct 29

The 2023 Belmont Park fall meet will be conducted at Aqueduct Racetrack due to ongoing major capital improvement projects at Belmont Park. The 28-day fall meet will begin on Thursday, September 14 and run through Sunday, October 29 and includes three Grade 1s and six Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" qualifiers. The meet will offer a total of 40 stakes worth $8.78 million in total purses.

The Belmont at the Big A stakes action kicks off on Saturday, September 16 with the 11-furlong Grade 3, $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Jockey Club Oaks, the final leg of the lucrative Fasig-Tipton Fillies Turf Triple for sophomore fillies.

The following week will see the first New York-bred stakes of the meet with the $125,000 John Hettinger for fillies and mares on Friday, September 22, followed by the Grade 3, $150,000 Noble Damsel Stakes for fillies and mares and the state-bred $125,000 Ashley T. Cole for 3-year-olds and up on Saturday, September 23. The weekend concludes with a pair of seven-furlong sprints worth $125,000 for state-bred juveniles on Sunday, September 24 in the Bertram F. Bongard and its female counterpart, the Joseph A. Gimma.

Saturday, September 30 features a loaded card of four graded events, including the first Grade 1 of the meet in the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/2 miles on turf. The card is supported by a triad of Grade 2 events in the $400,000 Woodward Stakes at nine furlongs for 3-year-olds and up, the $250,000 Gallant Bloom at 6 1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares, and the $250,000 Vosburgh Stakes, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up that awards the winner a berth into the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint in November at Santa Anita Park as part of the "Win and You're In" series.

The weekend wraps up with two more Grade 2 "Win and You're In" qualifiers on Sunday, October 1 with both events slated for juveniles at 1 1/16 miles on turf. The $200,000 Pilgrim awards a berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf while the $200,000 Miss Grillo for fillies awards a berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Saturday, October 7 provides another stacked card of graded events, led by two Grade 1 "Win and You're In" qualifiers at one-mile for juveniles in the $500,000 Champagne Stakes [Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile] and $400,000 Frizette [Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies]. The card is supported by the Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs; the Grade 3, $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya at 1 3/8 miles for fillies and mares; and the Grade 3, $500,000 Jockey Club Derby for sophomores, which will see its distance shortened to 1 3/8 miles from its previously-run distance of 1 1/2 miles.

Graded action continues into the Sunday, October 8 card, including the final "Win and You're In" event of the meet with the Grade 3, $150,000 Futurity for juveniles sprinting six furlongs on the lawn in hopes of securing a spot in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Also featured are the Grade 2, $250,000 Beldame at nine furlongs for fillies and mares; and the Grade 3, $150,000 Matron for juvenile fillies sprinting six furlongs on the turf.

Saturday, October 28 will offer four stakes, including the Grade 2, $300,000 Forty Niner, which was previously run as the Kelso. The one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and up will offer the top-three finishers a free nomination and starting fee in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile to be run during the Aqueduct fall meet. Forty Niner, a multiple Grade 1-winner on the NYRA circuit, captured the 1988 Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga Race Course en route to victory in the inaugural running of the NYRA Mile Handicap which later became the Cigar Mile.

The October 28 card also includes the Grade 2, $250,000 Mother Goose, a nine-furlong test for sophomore fillies that was previously held during the Belmont spring/summer meet; the Listed $135,000 Awad for juveniles going 1 1/16 miles on turf; and the Listed $135,000 Pumpkin Pie for fillies and mares sprinting seven furlongs.

Other graded events slated for the Belmont at the Big A fall meet are the Grade 2, $200,000 Sands Point for sophomore fillies traveling nine furlongs on the grass on October 14; the Grade 3, $150,000 Knickerbocker for 3-year-olds and up at nine furlongs on the grass on October 15; and the Grade 3, $200,000 Bold Ruler Stakes for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs on October 27.

The fall meet's stakes action concludes on closing day, Sunday, October 29, with Empire Showcase Day, which includes eight New York-bred stakes valued at $1.6 million in total purses. The card is highlighted by two nine-furlong events worth $250,000 in the Empire Classic and its counterpart, the Empire Distaff for fillies and mares. Empire Showcase Day will also include four $200,000 stakes in the Sleepy Hollow, Maid of the Mist, Mohawk and Ticonderoga, along with a pair of $150,000 stakes in the Iroquois and Hudson.

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2023 Belmont at the Big A Fall Meet Schedule

Date Horse Race Grade Purse Age/Sex Distance
Sep 14 Lonesome Glory Steeplechase Stakes I $150,000 4&up 20f Turf
Sep 14 William Entenmann Novice   $75,000 4&up 19f Turf
Sep 15 Winter Memories Stakes   $135,000 3yo f 8f Turf
Sep 16 Fasig-Tipton Jockey Club Oaks Invitational III $350,000 3yo f 11f Turf
Sep 22 John Hettinger Stakes   $125,000 3&up f/m 9f Turf
Sep 23 Ashley T. Cole Stakes   $125,000 3&up 9f Turf
Sep 23 Noble Damsel III $150,000 3&up f/m 8f Turf
Sep 24 Bertram F. Bongard Stakes   $125,000 2yo 7f Dirt
Sep 24 Joseph A. Gimma Stakes   $125,000 2yo f 7f Dirt
Sep 30 Gallant Bloom II $250,000 3&up f/m 6.5f Dirt
Sep 30 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic I $500,000 3&up 12f Turf
Sep 30 Vosburgh II $250,000 3&up 7f Dirt
Sep 30 Woodward II $400,000 3&up 9f Dirt
Oct 1 Miss Grillo Stakes II $200,000 2yo f 8.5f Turf
Oct 1 Pilgrim Stakes II $200,000 2yo 8.5f Turf
Oct 6 Gio Ponti Stakes   $135,000 3yo 8f Turf
Oct 7 Belmont Turf Sprint III $200,000 3&up 6f Turf
Oct 7 Champagne Stakes I $500,000 2yo 8f Dirt
Oct 7 Fasig-Tipton Waya Stakes III $200,000 3&up f/m 11f Turf
Oct 7 Frizette Stakes I $400,000 2yo f 8f Dirt
Oct 7 Jockey Club Derby Invitational III $500,000 3yo 11f Turf
Oct 8 Beldame II $250,000 3&up f/m 9f Dirt
Oct 8 Futurity Stakes III $150,000 2yo 6f Turf
Oct 8 Matron Stakes III $150,000 2yo f 6f Turf
Oct 14 Floral Park   $125,000 3&up f/m 6f Turf
Oct 14 Sands Point Stakes II $200,000 3yo f 9f Turf
Oct 15 Glen Cove   $125,000 3yo f 6f Turf
Oct 15 Knickerbocker III $150,000 3&up 9f Turf
Oct 21 Athenia   $150,000 3&up f/m 9f Turf
Oct 22 Carle Place   $125,000 3yo 6f Turf
Oct 27 Bold Ruler III $200,000 3&up 6f Dirt
Oct 27 Chelsey Flower Stakes   $135,000 2yo f 8.5f Turf
Oct 28 Awad Stakes   $135,000 2yo 8.5f Turf
Oct 28 Forty Niner II $300,000 3&up 8f Dirt
Oct 28 Mother Goose Stakes II $250,000 3yo f 9f Dirt
Oct 28 Pumpkin Pie Stakes   $135,000 3&up f/m 7f Dirt
Oct 29 Empire Classic Stakes   $250,000 3&up 9f Dirt
Oct 29 Empire Distaff Stakes   $250,000 3&up f/m 9f Dirt
Oct 29 Hudson Stakes   $150,000 3&up 6.5f Dirt
Oct 29 Iroquois Stakes   $150,000 3&up f/m 6.5f Dirt
Oct 29 Maid of the Mist Stakes   $200,000 2yo f 8f Dirt
Oct 29 Mohawk Stakes   $200,000 3&up 8.5f Turf
Oct 29 Sleepy Hollow Stakes   $200,000 2yo 8f Dirt
Oct 29 Ticonderoga Stakes   $200,000 3&up f/m 8.5f Turf