SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Since it was announced in December of last year the Belmont would be moving upstate to the Saratoga Race Course while its usual track is under renovation, there has been a lot of buzz about what this will mean for Spa City and the Capital Region.

Wednesday morning the community heard more about the summer of racing and asked questions at the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce’s Industry Influencers Series – NYRA Edition.

New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) President and CEO David O’Rourke and Saratoga County Chamber President and CEO Todd Shimkus joined together at Universal Preservation Hall to chat about the four-day Belmont Racing Festival as well as the usual Saratoga Racing season, touching on topics like the current state of NYRA and horse racing in general as well as the planning and preparations of Bellmont moving north during the two year rebuilding period among other things.

O’Rourke said there is a bit of a cost in moving the Belmont upstate from its normal track in Elmont. While he said there should be a positive net since NYRA does budget conservatively, there was deliberate attention paid to the cost line as they planned operations to move the meet to the race course in Saratoga.

“The ability to leverage Saratoga during this period of reconstruction, it’s invaluable to the continuity of the racing program,” O’Rourke explained. “The ability to have all these marquee races, I mean the entire weekend is stacked of staple races, really important ones that lead into our Saratoga meet and really the whole eastern pack in racing.”

“In a lot of ways, having Saratoga increases our ability for continuity as we rebuild Belmont so it’s key. It’s key to the whole racing ecosystem that we’re trying to keep together during these two years.”

O’Rourke also touched on the impact of moving the Belmont upstate, saying it was a no-brainer to host it at the Saratoga Race Course during this rebuilding period. Noting Saratoga has always been the strength of the franchise since he became a part of NYRA in 2008, he shared it has been “phenomenal” getting to watch the growth overall over the past 16 years and emphasized how it has been an ‘incredible evolution’ to get where it is today.

“Saratoga is really an amazing place in the sense that it’s all in — the excitement here makes for a very interesting formula when you have events,” O’Rourke said. “We have the 40 days (typical Saratoga meet), and then you take one weekend like this and just to see how everyone circles around and you’re like ‘let’s make this happen’ and it’s gonna work well.”

“This committee’s got such a great foundation for what it’s trying to achieve in terms of tourism and driving economic activity — you could say you’re tempted to stay up here longer, but you also don’t want to dilute it either. So I think we’ve got a nice balance, and we love working with each other. We’re part of the community out here and we’re appreciative of all the support we’re getting.”

When asked about preparing for Belmont, O’Rourke shared they have had plenty of time to plan and that ticket sales have been good. He said they are very confident and with the seasoned team that has been doing this every year, he believes the event will go smoothly.

O’Rourke also shared that he believed horse racing overall is positioned very well in New York as well as the country, mentioning that the largest media markets of course are on the coast and the core of horse racing is in Kentucky — the one area of concern he pointed at may lie on the west coast.

“New York’s now extremely well-positioned, Maryland is in the process of also really being well positioned and they are the two the major components of the Triple Crown,” O’Rourke said during the event. “As an industry itself, I’d say California would be our big concern because that is a massive market and that is something that there really needs to be a plan to maintain.”

Another thing discussed was improvements that have been done on the backstretch including how renovations to the old cinderblock dorms having been done over the past decade and collaborations with the local preservation society to start the process of building new dorms that fit within the historical aesthetic but also are more modern and should be completed within the next few years.

During the event, there was also time for the community to ask questions about Belmont or other things regarding horse racing that they wanted information on. One attendee brought up the national workforce shortage and what that could mean for NYRA and the Belmont Festival.

O’Rourke explained the recent job fair they held for the Belmont was incredibly successful, and while it is not easy the excitement level in the area has caused many to come out and want to be part of it, which has resulted in it not being as much of a challenge as it could have been.

“We’re definitely still filling positions but the cadence is strong,” O’Rourke shared with media following the event. “It seems like a lot of people want to be part of the festival, so even I’m getting calls saying ‘hey, is there something I can do’ from people from the town that are either regulars at the track or that looking for ways to contribute.”

Another question that was asked by the community is why the decision was made to run the Belmont race itself to a mile-and-a-quarter instead of the traditional mile-and-a-half. O’Rourke’s answer for this was NYRA didn’t want to start the race on a turn, and at the end of the day, he believes is going to work really well.

“I think we’re gonna have a really good feel, and we’re going to try it out for two years and then we’re going to go back to a mile-and-a-half, ” O’Rourke explained, seeming to confirm Belmont’s return to Saratoga in 2025. “Whether it’s right or wrong, that’s what we’re going to do.”

O’Rourke also answered questions about horse safety, with one attendee bringing up last year’s meet and asking what is being done to ensure good conditions for the horses to ensure that people can go into this summer with confidence in the surface.

“We were confident the surface last year — it seems like the knee-jerk reaction is always ‘Well, it’s the racing surface’ and the racing surface is tested multiple times a day in terms of moisture content,” O’Rourke said. “The track surfaces in general, there’s no change to the composition of these tracks. They are, from whichever way you look at it, aces, some of the best surfaces in the country.”

O’Rourke also touched on how the safety of horses is evolving and mentioned NYRA recently announced, that he is hopeful it gets through the budget and new imaging technology.

He assured that in terms of safety, NYRA is “all in on that” and that it is one of the most important things they do. He also mentioned in terms of surfaces, that NYRA has the premier track superintendent in the country, so much so that other racing organizations are calling asking for him to be sent out to help when they have issues.

Looking towards this summer, O’Rourke shared he is looking forward to the anticipation and excitement that comes with the racing season and seeing people attend the races. He shared while the races are exciting and there is always hope for a triple crown, he just hopes for a sunny day and that people come out just to have some fun.

To wrap up the event, Shimkus brought up Eric Scaringe, who shared a personal story of how O’Rourke went above and beyond to create a special experience at the race course not only for his family but has done it for multiple families. Shimkus explained this is something O’Rourke does every day which flies completely under the radar.

“I hope people today get to know David (O’Rourke), the CEO of NYRA who has a huge operation to run and spends a lot of his time outside of Saratoga,” Shimkus said regarding what he hopes people took away from the event today. “This is an opportunity in a setting that lends itself to more of a conversation than a speech.

“He had no prepared remarks and didn’t know what questions I was going to ask him — he said to ask him anything. So I really was looking forward to asking him anything and letting him connect with the people here.

“He is a great person and a great leader, and the more people he gets to meet and understand what he is trying to do, the better off we are.”

To learn more about the Belmont Racing Festival and the Saratoga 40-day summer racing meet visit https://www.nyra.com.