In this photo made with a smartphone, jockeys ride their horses into the newly-opened Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephen Whyno)

NEW YORK (AP) — They're off and running at the new Belmont Park, as horse racing returned Friday following a three-year absence for a $550 million reconstruction project that modernized the historic track.

Fans in the sellout crowd of 6,000 cheered before a field of 10 left the starting gate just after 1:30 p.m. at the home of the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown. Lisa Joy, a filly ridden by jockey Antonio Fresu, won the first race there since July 9, 2023.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be part of this historical track and historical reopening of Belmont Park,” Fresu said afterward. “They seem to be doing a tremendous job. The track is fantastic. The grandstand looks fantastic, all the facilities, so I’m really, really happy to be part of it.”

The new facility is futuristic and white, a departure from the massive brick grandstand that occupied the space from 1968 until its demolition. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul before a ribbon- cutting ceremony in the expanded paddock area called it the start of a whole new era of racing in a state that has Belmont Park on the border of Queens and Long Island to go with venerable Saratoga Race Course upstate.

“With the new Belmont Park, New York enters into a league of its own,” Hochul said. “All eyes of the racing world are on this place. Everybody’s paying attention to what we’re unveiling here."

For now, the first two floors are open to the public while work is completed on the third, fourth and fifth in time for the spring. They are expected to be ready for the Wood Memorial, a key prep race for the Kentucky Derby that takes place in early April.

"We’ll show off the whole facility that day," New York Racing Association President and CEO David O'Rourke told The Associated Press. "The bones are here. Now we’re going to flesh this out."

The Belmont Stakes returns June 5 after a three-year run at Saratoga. The Breeders' Cup is back next fall, with the sport's world championship weekend taking place in New York for the first time since 2005.

“If you build it, we will come,” said Dora Delgado, the Breeders' Cup executive vice president and chief racing officer. “We knew they had the capability. They knew what we needed from a facility, so it was just perfect."

Delgado likened the new Belmont Park to Ascot Racecourse in England and what Arlington Park outside Chicago used to look like before closing in 2021.

"It’s state of the art," Delgado said. “They have created something here that’s just astonishing, and it’s a first for New York racing to have this kind of facility.”

Fresu called the track one of the best turf courses he had ever ridden on. Hall of Fame Trainer Shug McGaughey, who won Races 1 and 2, made sure he got in the winner's circle photo after the first because it was a piece of history.

“It’s a beautiful place,” McGaughey said. “It’s different than what I expected. ... It’s a lot more modern than old Belmont.”

Country artist Dierks Bentley performed as part of the celebration and told fans he was betting on the Japanese horse in the headline race, the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup. That horse from Japan is Forever Young, the reigning Breeders' Cup Classic champion who blew away the competition in impressive fashion.

“Hats off to the operations team,” O'Rourke said. “I don’t think my folks have slept the last two weeks. We pulled off a big race, a big day. I can’t be more thrilled.”

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News from © The Associated Press, 2026