The reigning baseball Class C State Champions, Saratoga Central Catholic, won the Section 2 Class C title on Wednesday, May 27. The Saints only needed seven innings to beat Maple Hill in a 2-0 shutout win.

Runs from captains Luke Dejnozka and Pierce Bryne secured the win as Bryne’s pitching held the Maple Hill batters to only 2 hits all game. Highlights from the game include a double play by Joey Lindner in the first inning to get runners out at second and first. Second baseman Sandy McDonald made a spectacular sliding play on a ground ball hit to shallow right field just in time to get the runner out at first base in the third inning. 

The Saints improved their record to 20-3 on the season and will play Chapel Field Christian in the regional championship round on Saturday, June 6. 

Head Coach, Alphonse Lambert, in his 38th season is looking to lead the Saints to back-to-back State Championships. When Coach Lambert was hired in 1988, he was the youngest high school baseball head coach in New York State history at 22-years-old. Prior to Coach Lambert’s tenure, Saratoga Central Catholic baseball had never won a playoff game. 

Boasting a 75%-win percentage over his reign as head coach, Coach Lambert’s appointment changed the trajectory of the Saint’s baseball program. 

In 2000, Coach Lambert led the Saints to the Class C final but fell short to Falconer High School that day. Last year Coach Lambert and the players etched their name in Saint’s baseball history, winning the 2025 Class C State Championship. After getting over the hump, can the Saints repeat the feat?

This weekend marks the final act of a three-part series that will play out at Saratoga Race Course. When Belmont Park closed for a total rebuild in early 2024, Saratoga was chosen by the New York Racing Association to race the Belmont Stakes for a three-year period. The Triple Crown finale would then return to its new permanent home in 2027. 

It was a monumental decision. When the original Belmont Park was first rebuilt in the 1960s, the race was held downstate at nearby Aqueduct Racetrack. At the time “The Big A” was at its zenith and one of the most important racetracks in the country. It was the obvious choice to conduct the race there.

“The times they are a changing.” Saratoga Race Course has since become a focal point of the American horse racing scene. At the same time Aqueduct has fallen on hard times. In fact, when Saratoga opens the gates for its summer meeting, the wrecking ball will bring the era of the once mighty Aqueduct to an end.

The Belmont Stakes is known as “The Test of Champions.” The final leg of the Triple Crown is traditionally raced at the grueling distance of 1 1/2 miles. This is after a significant share of the contenders have competed in both the Kentucky Derby and then the Preakness just three weeks prior.

The decision to conduct the race here at The Spa made it necessary to change the length of the race. The two tracks have distinctly different layouts. The only alternative was to race it at a lesser distance of 1 1/4 miles.

The city of Saratoga Springs welcomed the opportunity with open arms. The most famous and historic racetrack in the country was about to host one of the premier sporting events on the world stage. 

From the first running here in 2024, it has surpassed all expectations. Approximately 50,000 fans attend the race. The track will be jam packed with spectators waiting for the main event. When the three-year-olds walk on to the track, Sal “The Voice” Valentinetti will perform his powerful rendition of “New York New York.” As they approach the gate, the crowd can hear a pin drop. Then the bell rings and a deafening roar will be heard throughout the old stands. In approximately two minutes, a new Belmont Stakes champion will take a bow in the winner’s circle. The owner will be presented with the stunning Belmont Stakes Trophy. After the ceremony, a scaled down version of the permanent trophy is then awarded to the winning owner, trainer, and jockey. 

Noticeable when walking the grounds are the well-dressed patrons. Tank tops and shorts take a breather on this special day. It’s a testimony to the respect that the race deserves and demands. 

The Belmont Stakes Festival has evolved into a five-day extravaganza. The racing schedule is loaded with Stakes Races. Many of the top racehorses and jockeys in the country will compete for $11 million in purse money spread over the festival week. To the horse players it’s a dream come true. Their handicapping skills will be put to the ultimate test. 

This year’s Belmont Stakes card features six grade one races. The Metropolitan Handicap tops the undercard. The mile race has a long and storied past as one of the elite events on the New York racing calendar dating back to 1891.

Saratoga has been blessed to have the Belmont Stakes take place here during the transitionary period. It’s bittersweet that the three-year run will be over early Saturday evening. It has been great for Saratoga, and NYRA has done a fantastic job presenting it to the racing public. On the other hand, it’s time for Belmont Park to bring its signature race back home and revert it to the proper distance of 1 1/2 miles.

It is worth mentioning that during World War Two, racing was suspended here at Saratoga. Due to wartime constraints, the Travers Stakes was contested at Belmont Park for three consecutive years beginning in 1943. That debt of gratitude has now been repaid with pleasure.

To have a world class sporting event take place in our own backyard is a remarkable happening. If you haven’t been to either of the first two runnings of the Belmont at Saratoga, the opportunity awaits this one final time. The race has an excellent field of contenders. The weather looks like it will cooperate. What more could you ask for? 

It’s the last chance to take in the thrills and excitement that will accompany the final Belmont Stakes at Saratoga. When you hear Sal “The Voice” belt out this famous line from the Belmont Stakes theme song, “I want to be a part of it, New York New York,” you will be glad that you too are a part of it. It’s a memory that you will not soon forget. Hope to see you there.

Honored through the naming of Belmont Park and the Belmont Stakes, August Belmont was a titan of American racing in the 19th century.

August Belmont proved to be a most important benefactor to thoroughbred racing during an era in which the sport was at a crossroads in America. In the aftermath of the Civil War, racing and breeding was in a desperate struggle to find its footing when Belmont entered the picture. Throughout a critical time in the sport’s history, Belmont served the game with distinction as an owner, breeder, and influential leader, leaving behind a prominent legacy, and earning a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Contemporary racing fans recognize the family name, as both Belmont Park and the Belmont Stakes were branded in honor of the iconic 19th century sportsman. Belmont Park, originally built in 1905, will re-open in September after a three-year renovation project. Located in Elmont, on Long Island, Belmont Park will once again be the home of the Belmont Stakes in 2027, as the third jewel in Triple Crown series concludes its three-year run at Saratoga Race Course on June 6. 

Born in Alzey, Germany, on Dec. 8, 1813, Belmont was sent to America as a representative of the powerful Rothschild banking firm and arrived in New York City during the financial crisis known as the Panic of 1837. Backed by the Rothschilds, Belmont immediately opened an investment firm, August Belmont & Co. The business became a major personal success and stabilized the international financial interests of the German-based Rothschilds.

Belmont’s connections with the Rothschilds and his polished European style gained him acceptance into New York high society. He entered the political arena as consul-general for the old Austrian Empire in 1844, serving in that post until 1849 when his sympathies for Hungary led to his resignation. He then served as U.S. Minister to the Netherlands before becoming the Democratic National Committee’s chairman from 1860 through 1872. Using his considerable financial and political influence, Belmont quietly played an important role in helping the Union during the Civil War, working behind the scenes to keep England and France from providing any aid to the Confederacy.

Following the war, Belmont was introduced to thoroughbred racing by Leonard Jerome, a wealthy financier who was conceiving a grand racetrack in New York City. Jerome, who was known as “The King of Wall Street,” convinced Belmont to become one of the first incorporators of the American Jockey Club in February of 1866. The track, which was named Jerome Park, opened that fall with Belmont as its first president. Belmont became enamored with racing and sought more than an executive role. Desiring a closer connection to the sport, he won his first race as an owner, fittingly at Jerome Park, with Maid of Honor in October 1866. Belmont’s silks of maroon and scarlet sash quickly became among the most recognizable in the sport.

In 1867, Belmont began his breeding operation by purchasing several broodmares and around 1,000 acres on Long Island, near Babylon, about 35 miles from New York City. He named it Nursery Stud. Shortly after, Belmont purchased his first good horse, Glenelg, for $2,000. Glenelg was the best 3-year-old of 1869, winning the Travers Stakes at Saratoga, among others. That same year, at Jerome Park, Belmont’s colt Fenian won the third running of the Belmont Stakes.

Until his Nursery Stud foals began coming to the races, Belmont bought most of his good horses. In July 1870, he purchased Kingfisher, who had already won the Belmont and Travers that year. For his new owner, Kingfisher won the Annual and Champion stakes. That same year, Belmont was one of the six original founders of the Long Branch Racetrack in New Jersey, which was later renamed Monmouth Park.

Belmont was also partners in the successful Annieswood Stable with William Travers and John Hunter. The stable put the great racer Kentucky up for sale in October 1868. Belmont purchased him outright from his partners for $15,000 and stood him at Nursery Stud until the horse’s death in 1875. In 1872, Belmont’s filly Woodbine — who was sired by Kentucky — won the inaugural edition of the Alabama Stakes, as well as the Hunter Stakes and Monmouth Oaks.

In 1875, Belmont purchased the 3-year-old filly Olitipa and the 2-year-old filly Sultana for $10,000 from Hunter. Olitipa won the Alabama, Hunter, Ladies, and Maryland stakes that year, while Sultana won the Maryland, Ladies, and Hunter stakes in 1876. She also won the Travers that summer, beating some of the best 3-year-old colts. In 1877, for the third straight year, Belmont owned the top 3-year-old filly, Susquehanna, winner of the Alabama and Hunter.

Belmont reduced his role as an owner in the late 1870s but continued as a prominent figure in the sport as president of the American Jockey Club. By 1885, Belmont decided to make it a priority to rejuvenate his racing stable and breeding operation. His first move was purchasing a farm near Lexington, Kentucky, and importing 1888 Epsom Derby winner St. Blaise as a stallion for $100,000. Belmont bought additional broodmares and persuaded his former trainer, Jacob Pincus, to return from England and once again oversee his string of racers.

The stable returned to prominence by 1887, and Belmont was America’s leading owner and breeder in both 1888 and 1889. Belmont, however, died of pneumonia the following year at the age of 77. His estate was conservatively valued at $10 million. At the time, he owned America’s best 2-year-old colt, Potomac, and best 2-year-old filly, La Tosca. Both were sold at the auction of Belmont’s racing stock in late December of 1890. Following his death, the New York Times described Belmont as “the most influential man in American racing.”

In 1891, Belmont’s stallions, broodmares, yearlings, and weanlings were offered at auction. St. Blaise, America’s top sire in 1890, was purchased for $100,000. The 131 thoroughbreds at the two auctions sold for a total of $639,500, a new record for a dispersal of a racing stable and stud. Belmont’s son, August Belmont II, made several broodmare purchases at the sale to begin assembling stock for the second Nursery Stud, which went on to produce, among other legends, Man o’ War.  

Belmont was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2018 as a Pillar of the Turf.