Belmont Stakes to be held at Saratoga Race Course in '24
The Belmont is heading to Saratoga for the first time — but almost certainly not the last.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that the 2024 Belmont Stakes will be run at Saratoga Race Course, with the third leg of horse racing's Triple Crown shifting upstate from Long Island because of the massive renovation of Belmont Park.
The move has been expected for some time since the New York Racing Association unveiled plans for the $455 million Belmont Park project. Construction is expected to last into 2025, so there's a good chance of the Belmont at Saratoga two years in a row.
“This is likely a two-year endeavor,” NYRA president and CEO David O'Rourke said by phone Wednesday. “We're going to get it right, and we're going to improve on it each year.”
Pending the approval of the North American Graded Stakes Committee, the Belmont will be run at a distance of 1 1/4 miles, shorter than the race's traditional 1 1/2 miles because of the shape of the dirt track at Saratoga. It was 1 1/8 miles in 2020 when the Belmont led off the Triple Crown run out of order because of the pandemic.
That Belmont had no fans. A crowd of up to 50,000 is expected this time to witness history.
“The ability to have the Belmont up at Saratoga, a bunch of circumstances would have to come into alignment,” O'Rourke said. “It's the most historic venue in the country. It's one of the coolest sporting venues on the planet, and it's one of the greatest tourist towns in the nation. Everyone's excited.”
The purse will increase from $1.5 million to $2 million and the race will be part of a special four-day run at Saratoga a month before the usual summer meet there begins July 11.
“It's a win for horse racing and for the Capital Region to have the excitement and the ability to host the four-day festival in June at America's most historic track,” Hochul said in a statement.
Racing in New York is currently happening at Aqueduct in Queens, which was home to the Triple Crown finale from 1963-67, the last time Belmont Park was renovated.
College basketball WILLIAMS AND NEWBURY COMBINE FOR 36 AS SAN FRANCISCO BEATS VANDERBILT >>
Marcus Williams scored 18 points, Ndewedo Newbury had 17 and San Francisco never trailed in its win over Vanderbilt.
Williams and Newbury were a combined 13 of 20 from the floor and 7-of-12 shooting from long range. Jonathan Mogbo, who finished with a career-high 23 points in the Dons' 7261 loss at Arizona State on Sunday, was held to just four points but grabbed 14 rebounds to go with nine assists. Malik Thomas added 10 points for San Francisco (6-3).
Ven-Allen Lubin scored 15 points and Ezra Manjon had 10 for Vanderbilt (4-5), which shot 43% (24 of 56) overall and were outrebounded 39-21.
The Dons built a 43-29 halftime advantage.
COASTAL CAROLINA'S ELLIS RETIRES WITH 831 DIVISION I VICTORIES, MOST AMONG ACTIVE COACHES >>
Coastal Carolina basketball coach Cliff Ellis, who leads all active Division I coaches with 831 victories, is retiring.
Coastal Carolina said Ellis coached his final game Monday night, a 110-46 victory against St Andrews. It said associate head coach Benny Moss will take on the role of interim coach and that Ellis will remain with the school working on special projects as he completes his contract.
The 78-year-old Ellis was in his 17th season at Coastal Carolina, finishing a career that also saw him lead the programs at Clemson, Auburn, South Alabama, and Cumberland of the NAIA. Including his time at Cumberland, his career record is 909-576.
College football
NEW MEXICO HIRES MENDENHALL >>
New Mexico hired Bronco Mendenhall as its new head football coach.
The 57-year-old Mendenhall compiled a 135-81 record over 17 seasons at BYU and Virginia and was 7-7 in bowl games before he stepped away from coaching
following the 2021 season.
Mendenhall moved to Montana with his wife Holly and spent time fishing and horseback riding before deciding to return to college football.
He's the 33rd head coach in New Mexico's football history and succeeds Danny Gonzales, who was fired Nov. 25 after a 4-8 season at his alma mater. Gonzales had an 11-32 record over four seasons with the Lobos, who haven't had a winning season since 2016.
College athletics PROPOSAL TO ADD NEW TIER JUST A START, NCAA HEAD SAYS >>
A day after NCAA President Charlie Baker made an aggressive and potentially groundbreaking pitch to allow some schools to pay their athletes, his proposal was met with praise, caution and questions from around college sports.
“I think Charlie has indicated his intent for that to begin a discussion,” Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey said during an appearance at the Sports Business Journal's Intercollegiate Athletic Forum. “There's certainly a lot of content included from which to begin a discussion.”
On Tuesday, Baker laid forth an aggressive and potentially groundbreaking vision for a new NCAA subdivision at the very top of college sports in a letter he sent to the more than 350 Division I schools.
Baker said his proposal to allow the most highly resourced schools in Division I to pay athletes through a trust fund is just a starting point as he tries to shift the association to be more proactive than reactive.
NHL
BEDARD IS LIVING UP TO HYPE, BUT BLACKHAWKS REMAIN ONE OF LEAGUE'S WORST TEAMS >>
Asked how he processes losing, Connor Bedard recalled one of his seasons with the Regina Pats — his junior hockey team in Canada.
He didn't have to look back very far. After all, the rookie center just turned 18 in July.
While Bedard has lived up to the considerable hype he brought with him to Chicago, he can only do so much. The Blackhawks still look like a team at the beginning of a rebuilding project, albeit with a budding offensive star and a handful of promising defensemen.
Chicago has dropped four straight and 10 of 12 overall after Tuesday night's 4-3 shootout loss to Nashville. It is off to a 7-16-1 start after it was 7-13-4 through its first 24 games last season.
“Every guy in here wants to do well,” forward Nick Foligno said. “I think that's the hard part, is we're not getting results.”
The biggest problem for Chicago is its lack of scoring punch, even with Bedard in the fold. Heading into Wednesday's NHL slate, the Blackhawks ranked 30th in the league with 59 goals, and its power play was 29th.
The Blackhawks tried to address their lines in the offseason, bringing in veteran forwards Taylor Hall, Corey Perry and Foligno. But Hall is out with a season-ending knee injury and Perry was cut for violating team conduct policies.
Andreas Athanasiou, who had 20 goals and 20 assists for Chicago last season, is on injured reserve with a groin injury. Lukas Reichel, a firstround pick in the 2020 draft, is off to a disappointing start with two goals and four assists in 23 games.