2011 Belmont Stakes Charity Celebration

Tickets are now available to the 2011 Belmont Stakes Charity Celebration at The New York Public Library Stephen A. Schwarzman Building with proceeds benefiting the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and the Backstretch Employee Services Team. Click Here to purchase tickets or donate.

https://www.tjcis.com/grayson/BelEventTickets.asp

NYRA President and CEO, Charles E. Hayward, Speaks at Elmont Summit on Economic Development

On May 5th, the Elmont Chamber of Commerce hosted The Elmont Summit on Economic Development at the Elmont Public Library. NYRA President and CEO, Charles E. Hayward, was invited to participate in the roundtable discussion which focused on economic development in Elmont. Patrick Kehoe, NYRA Senior Vice President and General Counsel and Joanne Adams, NYRA Director of Community Relations, were in attendance.

Opening Day at Belmont Park

Spring was definitely in the air as Belmont Park, which held its first meet in 1905, opened its historic iron gates this afternoon!

NYRA Officially Opens Belmont Park with Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

NYRA President and CEO, Charles E. Hayward, was pleased to host our Belmont Park Community Leaders and Local Officials on April 29th, Opening Day. NYRA named a race Saluting the Belmont Park Community Leaders and everyone enjoyed a day of exciting Thoroughbred racing at beautiful Belmont Park!

NYRA Acknowledges Queens Community Partners and Local Leaders on Wood Memorial Day

Wood Memorial Day at the Big A (April 9) was FANTASTIC as over 12,000 fans joined us on a beautiful afternoon for an exciting day of racing! NYRA was proud to acknowledge the Queens Community Leaders as well as its long standing relationship with Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children.

Jeremy's Walk to benefit disabled jockeys, Anna House

On June 12, 2011, Jeremy Edge will begin a 190-mile walk from Belmont Park to Saratoga Racecourse. This walk is just one of many ways Jeremy wants to give back to horse racing, and his hope is that it will raise both awareness and funding for the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund (PDJF) and for Anna House, the early childhood education center that benefits the children of the backstretch workers at Belmont Park, sustained by the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA).

Please click here to download the donation form.

Donations can also be made at www.pdjf.org or www.belmontchildcare.org

Belmont Stakes Charity Celebration on June 9 to Benefit Equine Research, Backstretch Community

The Belmont Stakes is one of those quintessential New York events so it’s only fitting that the Belmont Stakes Charity Celebration will be held this year at one of New York City’s landmark buildings: The New York Public Library Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42^nd Street.

The library site was once a Revolutionary War battlefield and later the home of the Croton Reservoir. The building, with its iconic and world-renowned lion sculptures on its front steps, opened on May 23, 1911.

The fund-raising event, hosted by the New York Racing Association and The Jockey Club, will be held Thursday, June 9, in the Astor Hall section of the library. Tickets are $150 and proceeds benefit Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and the Backstretch Employee Services Team.

The celebration will be catered by renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer’s Union Square Events and will include hors d’oeuvres, food stations, and a full bar in a cocktail party setting.

Musical entertainment will be provided by Spank, the popular New York City-based a cappella doo-wop quartet that performs songs of the great R&B vocal groups.

The 143^rd running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes will be Saturday, June 11, and will be televised by NBC Sports.

“The charity celebration is always one of the highlights of Belmont Stakes week,” said NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward. “We are excited to team with The Jockey Club to host this terrific event and help raise money for horses and the dedicated backstretch workers who care for them.”

“The Jockey Club is proud to partner with NYRA on such a worthwhile event,” said The Jockey Club President and Chief Operating Officer James L. Gagliano. “The Belmont Stakes Charity Celebration builds awareness of the third leg of the Triple Crown as well as two important charities that serve our sport.”

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation is traditionally the nation’s leading source of private funding for equine medical research that benefits all breeds of horses. In 2011, the foundation is allocating $841,023 for 17 research projects that address a broad spectrum of issues, including piroplasmosis, laminitis and laryngeal neuropathy (roaring). Since 1983, the foundation has provided $18 million for 279 specific projects at 40 universities. Additional information about the foundation is available at grayson-jockeyclub.org.

The Backstretch Employee Services Team (B.E.S.T.) provides a full range of health and human services to support the workers in the Belmont Park, Aqueduct and Saratoga barn areas, helping them to lead healthy and full lives. Primary, preventive and urgent health care services are provided free of charge at a year-round clinic at Belmont and seasonal clinic at Saratoga. B.E.S.T. also provides assistance, advice and training on financial, vocational, educational and legal matters. Additional information about B.E.S.T. is available at bestbackstretch.com.

Additional information about the Belmont Bash is available by contacting Nancy Kelly at (212) 521-5305 or nkelly@jockeyclub.com.