In The Money Telegraph
Sunday, September 20, 2026 · By ITM Staff
A New Era Opens at Belmont
After three years and roughly $455 million, the new Belmont Park threw open its doors on Friday, and by every measure the reopening delivered. Governor Kathy Hochul led a morning ribbon-cutting in the rebuilt paddock — “With the new Belmont Park, New York enters into a league of its own,” she said — before a sold-out crowd of 6,000 filed in for the first racing at the Elmont oval since July 2023. NYRA president and CEO Dave O’Rourke called it “the beginning of an exciting new era,” and the numbers backed the mood: the nine-race card drew an all-sources handle of nearly $14 million.
The building itself was the other star. The paddock is twice the size of the old one, ringed by tables and chairs, and NYRA kept the touchstones — the iconic white pine and the Secretariat statue — while adding, for the first time in the track’s 120-plus years, fan access to the infield. Lisa Joy, a filly ridden by Antonio Fresu, won the first race back, and Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey took the first two on the card. Country star Dierks Bentley closed the day with a concert, and ticket proceeds went to the NYRA Foundation.
And the racing gave the day its headline. In the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Japanese superstar Forever Young powered home a 3¼-length winner under Ryusei Sakai in 2:01.23, punching his ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, with trainer Bill Mott running second and third behind him. Fittingly for a horse famous for building toward his target, the camp wasn’t satisfied — trainer Yoshito Yahagi rated him roughly “80% fit” and pointed to a sharper effort at Keeneland on October 31. The one absentee was Sovereignty, sidelined by a foot abscess, which sets up a possible showdown at the Breeders’ Cup instead.
The Puma Breaks Through in the Parx Millions
It took a nose loss in the Florida Derby, a Kentucky Derby scratch, and a pair of fourth-place finishes in the Haskell and Travers, but The Puma finally caught the cream of the three-year-old division on Saturday, winning the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx. Fitted with blinkers for the first time, the Essential Quality colt unleashed a sweeping wide move on the far turn under Javier Castellano, opened three lengths in the stretch, and held off favorite Further Ado by a half-length in 1:49.10, with Sassmaster third. It was a first Grade 1 for the colt and for trainer Gustavo Delgado — the same trainer-jockey-owner group behind 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage. “When Javier made his move, I said, ‘He wins,’” Delgado said.
The co-feature produced an upset of its own. In the $1 million Cotillion, Saffie Joseph Jr. sent out the 1-2 punch and got the better half: Bodacious Bay, a Not This Time filly making her first start for the barn after a private purchase, ran down odds-on Kentucky Oaks winner Always a Runner and drew off to a 3¼-length win under Micah Husbands, with Measure third. “I was loaded the whole way,” Husbands said. It was his fourth Grade 1 for Joseph.
The results reshuffle a three-year-old filly division that lost a headliner this week: Alabama winner My Gun’s Loaded has been ruled out for the rest of 2026 with an injury, trainer Chad Brown told the Daily Racing Form, leaving Counting Stars with the likely edge for the championship.
Sunday’s Racing
Belmont Park. Opening weekend wraps today, with the $175,000 Forever Together the featured stakes on the third and final day of the sold-out debut run.
Los Alamitos. Dean Keppler makes course specialist See Through It his best bet in Race 6. Keppler’s card →
ITM Plus
Six Weeks to the Breeders’ Cup
Forever Young is booked for the Classic, the Parx millionaires have their say, and a new Belmont is up and running — the road to Keeneland is well underway. ITM Plus members get daily written selections, the members’ bet share, exclusive shows, and full coverage the rest of the way.
More all week at inthemoneypodcast.com and on the ITM YouTube channel, with premium coverage on ITM Plus.
