Embrace the Belmont Returns for Final Event

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The third iteration of Embrace the Belmont, an event designed to educate and hype locals on the Belmont Stakes, will return to the Universal Preservation Hall for one final ride on Tuesday, June 2.

Tickets are currently on sale.

The event will feature a panel of expert handicappers: Sara Elbadwi and Matthew DeSantis from the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and Seth Merrow from Capital OTB.

Prior to last year’s Belmont Stakes, which was won by Sovereignty, DeSantis predicted Journalism would win, while Merrow correctly picked Sovereignty. Elbadwi declared Baeza, who came in third, to be the “best bet.”

Donna Brothers will once again emcee the event. Brothers recently announced that she would step down, after 26 years, from her post as NBC’s Kentucky Derby reporter on horseback. Prior to becoming a broadcaster, Brothers was a jockey who retired in 1998 as the second-winningest female jockey in the nation by money earned.

“I just wanted the people who are in town and the ones most affected by the Saratoga circus coming to town every year, to have an event for them,” Brothers told Saratoga TODAY prior to the first Embrace the Belmont in 2024.

“Saratoga is such an iconic venue,” Brothers said. “When you walk in and look at that structure, you feel the 100 years plus of history ingrained in the wood.”

Embrace the Belmont III will have light bites, cocktails, a “lively social atmosphere,” and a dash of “Saratoga style,” according to event organizers. Fashion partners this year include Frivolous, Mark Thomas Apparel, Miss Scarlett, and Gilded, all of whom will be showcasing Belmont-inspired fashion.

The event will support two nonprofits: Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga and the Saratoga Hospital Foundation. 100% of proceeds will be split between the organizations.

To purchase tickets, visit thsaratoga.org/embrace-the-belmont/.