ELMONT, N.Y. – The renovated race track may no longer sneak through the Queens border, but Belmont Park nevertheless played host to a sizable borough contingent on June 6, when 52,861 showed up to watch Mine That Bird try to win his jockey a personal Triple Crown.
The crowd, however, left its share of seats empty during the day’s early races, mostly because they were busy elsewhere on the grounds.
All day long at Belmont Park – where the gates opened at 8:30 a.m., ten hours before the Stakes race – fans of varying ages and varying horseracing expertise were treated to a mass of off-track festivities.
Live music, lots of lounge chairs, and considerable alcohol consumption (with countless paper cups left among the post-race refuse) were a few recurring themes throughout several crowded acres of grass. Dozens of booths dispensed merchandise, ice cream, and funnel cake, and the long lines emerging from a few actually rivaled those around the ATMs.
Several giant video screens kept attendees in touch with the races on the other side of the stands. True to trackside form, many fans grew animated, some jumping up and down, as their horses raced to the finish.
Joe Carey, Fran Carey, and Joe Carey Jr., of Baldwin, N.Y. were among those placing bets on Mine That Bird – “To be honest, I think the jockey sold me,” Joe said – and enjoying the atmosphere. (Fran is a Jamaica native.) They have been coming to Belmont for more than 25 years, and they said the ambiance is what keeps them returning.
“It’s fun being with all the people,” Joe Jr. said. “We see people we know. Every year we see the same people.”
A similar experience was shared by a trio of young first-timers. Nina Baker, Colby Giulino and Annie Guarino – respectively of Manhattan, Morris County, N.J., and West Islip, N.Y. – unexpectedly ran into familiar company while talking to The Courier.
“[Our] friends said it was a lot of fun. We figured it was good weather, something fun for the weekend,” Guarino said. “We’ve seen a lot of people we know that we didn’t know were going to be here.”
“This really reminds me of a German beer garden,” Baker joked.
Mine That Bird clearly captured the affection of Belmont’s betters, the female trio included, and a vocal trackside majority grew a little bit louder when Borel made his move in the big race. When Summer Bird pulled away, the shouts of dozens of happy race-goers could be heard above the silence of everyone else.
Festive atmosphere at 2009 Belmont Stakes
