Sunday, April 29, 2012
Contact: Ashley Herriman
aherriman@nyrainc.com
KENTUCKY DERBY, OAKS SIMULCAST AVAILABLE AT BELMONT AND AQUEDUCT; SERLING TO HOST DERBY PREVIEW WEB CHAT FRIDAY
ELMONT, N.Y. – New York racing fans in search of simulcast action from Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby weekend should look no further than Aqueduct Racetrack and Belmont Park, the best places to watch and wager on Kentucky racing on May 4 and 5, in addition to live thoroughbred competition in New York.
On Friday, May 4, Belmont and Aqueduct will offer wagering on the 12-race Kentucky Oaks Day card at Churchill Downs, as well as advance wagering on Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Also available is wagering on the Oaks/Derby Double and the Oaks/Woodford Reserve Turf Classic/Derby Pick 3. Advance and race day wagering will also be available through Telebet (opening at 9 a.m. both days) and NYRARewards.com. All Churchill Downs races will be included in both Friday's and Saturday's Post Parade programs.
First race post at Churchill Downs on Oaks and Derby days is 10:30 a.m. and parking lots at Aqueduct and Belmont Park will open at 9:45 a.m., with admission gates opening at 10 a.m. on both days. General parking at Belmont is free, while at Aqueduct there is a $2 charge.
On Friday, Oaks Day, voucher sellers and self-service windows will open at 10 a.m., with live tellers available beginning at 11:15 and remaining open in all areas until the after the Oaks (approximate post 5:45 p.m.). Clerks will then be available only on the first floor at Aqueduct and the Belmont Café at Belmont.
On Saturday, Derby Day, staffed windows will open at 10 a.m. along with voucher sellers and self-service machines. Windows will remain open in all areas until after the Derby (approximate post 6:24 p.m.), Clerks will then be available only on the first floor at Aqueduct and the Belmont Café at Belmont.
All of Belmont's regular food offerings will be available – including the brand new Fisherman's Wharf restaurant located in the second floor Grandstand – on both Oaks and Derby days, with the Heritage Club Bar on the third floor remaining open late on Derby day. At Aqueduct, food and beverage service is available at the Triple Crown Café and Champs Sports Bar on the first floor, and the Manhattan Terrace and Winner's Circle Coffee Shop on the third floor.
LIRR direct service to Belmont Park will operate as scheduled on Friday, with a complete schedule available at http://www.mta.info/lirr. On Friday and Saturday, the final LIRR train will depart Belmont Park approximately 30 minutes after the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, rather than the regularly scheduled approximate 6:27 p.m. departure time. A single shuttle runs from Belmont Park to the Queens Village LIRR station 30 minutes after the completion of the full simulcast program at Belmont on all live racing days.
At Aqueduct, Resorts World Casino New York City operates a shuttle bus from the Aqueduct-North Conduit stop on the A train to the casino entrance.
In addition to all of the simulcast action from Churchill Downs, Belmont offers great live racing on both Friday and Saturday, which marks the return of graded grass racing to New York with a pair of Grade 3, $150,000 turf contests, the Fort Marcy, and the Beaugay for fillies and mares.
On Friday evening, May 4, NYRA Television Analyst Andy Serling will host a live web chat to preview the Kentucky Derby card. Fans can ask Serling questions by logging on at http://www.nyra.com/livechat beginning that evening at 8 p.m. No pre-registration is necessary for the chat and users may simply type questions and comments in the chat field at the bottom of the page for Serling to address. At the conclusion of the chat, an "instant replay" is created for future reference.
The NYRA Network's National Racing Report will preview Oaks Day at Churchill Downs on Friday morning at 9:30 and Derby Day on Saturday at 9:30. Immediately following the National Racing Report preview shows on both days, the NYRA Network will air the first three live races from Churchill Downs before transitioning to regularly scheduled programming with live races from Belmont Park and Woodbine. The Kentucky Oaks will be broadcast live from 5-6 p.m. Friday on the NBC Sports Network, which will also show the Kentucky Derby undercard from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Kentucky Derby will air live on NBC from 5-7 p.m. Saturday.
Fans who want to earn rebates on their wagers can get paid to play with NYRA Rewards, the wagering program that offers cash back just for betting on the races, whether it's on NYRA races or simulcast events! Enrolling in NYRA Rewards is easier than ever with instant sign-up online at NYRARewards.com. Join today and begin wagering on-track, over the phone, on the internet or through mobile wagering supported devices such as your Blackberry or iPhone. NYRA Rewards offers a full simulcast menu of the best racetrack signals coast-to-coast, plus evening race programs, and members enjoy many perks including free express funding, live video streaming, and the most generous cash rewards structure of any advance deposit wagering program in racing.
The 56-day Belmont Park spring/summer Meet runs April 27 through July 15. On most days, gates open at 11:30 a.m. and first race post time is 12:50 p.m. Live racing is generally conducted Wednesday through Sunday. General parking is free, except on Belmont Stakes Day, Saturday, June 9. There is no live racing on Mondays or Tuesdays, with the exception of Memorial Day, Monday, May 28. Belmont Park will be dark on Sunday, June 10 and Wednesday, July 11. Visit www.NYRA.com for more information.
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