NYRA Announces 2026 Aqueduct Stakes Schedule, Saratoga Belmont Festival Dates

NYRA released its 2026 stakes calendar, moving the downstate circuit to accommodate construction at Belmont Park and locking in a condensed spring/summer program that will reshape prep routes and regional race economics. The Belmont at the Big A meet will run at Aqueduct Racetrack from April 30 through June 28, while the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival moves to Saratoga Race Course for a five-day festival from June 3 through June 7.

Operational shifts drive the schedule. NYRA is pausing Aqueduct racing May 26 through June 2 to shift the circuit upstate for the Saratoga festival, with live racing at Aqueduct resuming Thursday, June 11. The final race day at Aqueduct will be Sunday, June 28; NYRA will pay tribute to Aqueduct with a special closing weekend to honor the legacy of the South Ozone Park oval. BloodHorse notes the release date of the NYRA announcement as February 11, 2026.

The Aqueduct spring/summer meet will feature 16 stakes races totaling $2,475,000 in purses and is headlined by the Grade 3, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes. The Peter Pan is called “the traditional New York prep for the Belmont Stakes (G1),” and NYRA is offering a tangible incentive for connections: “NYRA will waive entry and starting fees to the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets for the first three finishers of the Peter Pan.” The Belmont Stakes itself is referenced as the Grade 1, $2 million centerpiece of the festival program in NYRA materials.

Saratoga’s Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be a beefed-up showcase with 25 stakes worth $11,075,000 in total purses. The festival opens June 3 with New York Showcase Day, a program of six $200,000 events exclusively for horses foaled in the Empire State, mirroring the 2025 format. BloodHorse calls Saturday, June 6 “a blockbuster Belmont Stakes day at Saratoga” that will include six Grade 1 races. FOX Sports is the television home of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

The schedule also includes notable stakes movement. “The Man o' War Stakes (G2T) moves into the fall meet at Belmont Park in 2026,” shifting a traditional turf feature away from the Peter Pan weekend and changing campaign timing for turf specialists. NYRA says the consolidation is necessary because “the upcoming completion of a new, re-imagined Belmont Park requires the consolidation of all downstate racing operations at Belmont.” Some NYRA postings indicate Belmont Park will re-open for live racing on Sept. 18, 2026.

Business and cultural implications are immediate. The fee waiver and concentrated Grade 1 day are designed to strengthen fields and TV-ready storylines, which helps owners, trainers, and bettors calibrate spring campaigns. Moving marquee dates and pausing Aqueduct racing redistributes economic activity between Queens and Saratoga and spotlights Aqueduct’s role as a community touchstone as the South Ozone Park oval receives a farewell. For full race-by-race conditions and the complete stakes schedule consult NYRA’s official stakes schedule page for the 2026 calendar.

What comes next is a tactical recalibration for trainers and owners mapping routes to the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, and a summer that promises high-stakes action at Saratoga followed by a reflective send-off at Aqueduct as the region awaits the re-imagined Belmont Park.