Belmont Special Returns To Service

After many posts and and yet another raise in taxes the Belmont Special will return to service next Thursday. Finally Power Cap will see a return on investment on his local taxes dedicated to the MTA.

From Power Cap

Last Hope For The Belmont Train bailout

A state bailout plan is close to being approved for the MTA. My employer will have to pay an additional .3% payroll tax. For us overtaxed New Yorkers we can look forward to an Albany slew of taxes, surcharges and clips that will ensure that transit service will resume as normal. This bailout thing will cost my family a few thousand a year but thankfully I will get to ride the train to Belmont a half dozen times later this year. Talk about poor value. Hopefully Belmont service is restored ASAP as it is the only service in the whole system that is personally important to me. All of the service(Belmont Park was the only service cut so far)cuts are supposedly going to be reinstated according to the bailout press release. The total savings of cutting the one train that went to Belmont five days a week was $112K for the year. NYRA estimates that they were going to lose $5 million in handle for the year due to that one train.


In the mean time the thought of boarding a school bus from Queens Village to Belmont is just too much for me. I grew up riding public transit and never did I have to ride a school bus. Riding a school bus to a racetrack(sorry Funny Cide connections) is like pedaling a tricycle to a nightclub, it is the wrong vehicle for the job. I deeply resent that my taxes paid $91 million for a new Yankee train station while us horse racing fans have to ride a yellow school bus from the 1970s to complete our public transit mission. Imagine the horror of hanging on the simulcast monitors for a minute too long only to see your steed get clipped by a nose at the wire. Then with that disappointment slowing you down you sprint over to the school bus shuttle only to miss that by a nose too. Now you are tapped and stuck walking or waiting an hour for the next shuttle to Queens Village for their hourly service to New York. For the derby I considered taking the train to Belmont but drove instead to mitigate a worst case scenario. If they can fix this transit injustice all will be good in the land of the powercap transit special.

Belmont LIRR Plans Finalized

Beginning on Wednesday, April 29, The New York Racing Association, Inc. will provide free shuttle bus service between Belmont Park and the Queens Village station of the Long Island Rail Road for its patrons affected by the suspension of the “Belmont Special” by the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

“We remain optimistic that train service to Belmont Park will be restored,” said Kenneth Cook, NYRA’s Vice-President of Security. “In the interim, in order to fill the gap left by government cuts, shuttle service is a way to accommodate those who depended on the train to bring them directly to Belmont Park.”

Bus service to Belmont Park remains unaffected by the cuts and fans may take either the Q2 or the Q110 from Jamaica directly into the track. Those using a Metrocard can get a free transfer from the subway to the bus or between buses.

The shuttles will depart the corner of Springfield Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue at 12:30 p.m., while return service will be provided 15 minutes after the last live race. There will be drop-off and pick-up points at both the clubhouse and grandstand entrances at Belmont Park.

Until the restoration of regular train service to Belmont Park, which was eliminated as part of a series of budget cuts and proposed fare hikes by the MTA, the shuttles will operate daily except for June 6, Belmont Stakes Day, and Saturday, May 30. On those days, passengers can board the LIRR Belmont Park Special at Penn Station, Woodside or Jamaica.

“We remain willing to work with the MTA and the LIRR,” said Cook. “Conversations are on-going in Albany and we are hopeful this will be a temporary measure until rail service resumes on a regular basis.”

Home of the $1 million Belmont Stakes, Belmont Park’s 64-day spring/summer meet runs through Sunday, July 26.

Latest On Belmont LIRR

As the MTA opens the new $91 million Yankee Stadium station they look to shutter 104 year old Belmont Park Station next week. The information from the MTA is conflicting regarding the service elimination at Belmont. The MTA website schedule still lists a train departing Penn Station at 1156am on Wednesday 29APR with the destination of Belmont park. The changes section of the MTA website lists the Service cuts at Belmont effective early September. Then a call to the LIRR yielded the information that the train to Belmont will only operate on Satuirday 30 May and 06Jun for the Belmont Stakes. Dealing with these bureaucrats and their inefficiencies is very frustrating, so it is hard to confirm anything regarding the train service to Belmont Park next week.

Holding Out Hope For The Belmont Train

Maybe the Belmont train service can be salvaged? For me and other race fans it is a vital link from Manhattan to Belmont Park. The service still appears on the on-line MTA LIRR schedule. What a shame that the grandest urban racetrack in the US will have its dedicated train station shuttered due to budget cuts. While the government shuts off Belmont Park fans from public transit the same government is spending $91 million of taxpayer money to build a new Metro North Station for the New York Yankee baseball team. The Yankees already have a subway station but the local government felt it needed to spend $91 million of the taxpayers money so that the Yankees can have two stations. Yet another example of how government corruption has harmed horse racing in New York. Perhaps something is being worked on up in Albany and the Belmont train can continue to serve Belmont like it has for over 100 years.

TRAIN SCHEDULE TO BELMONT STILL LISTED







Here Is The Same Schedule Circa 1905

Belmont Park Walking Directions

People asked so here is a power cap transit special. With the Belmont Special train only a memory people without cars need a way to get to the races. As someone that has lived a few blocks from Belmont I know the local area well. Out of all the local train stations Queens Village is the closest. Floral Park is too far east and Bellerose is inconvenient leaving you far from the front side entrance. Here are the walking directions to Belmont from Queens Village Station. There is a faster/shorter way but it involves walking on the Cross Island under the railroad underpass and that is only for the bravest of urban explorers, inquire within about that special route.

Walking Directions From Queens Village LIRR To Belmont

The End Of The Line For The Belmont Special

The MTA finalized plans to cancel service to the Belmont Park. This station was one of the first to be electrified in the early 1900's. My favorite station on the LIRR will sit idle for the foreseeable future. There will be nearby service to the Queens Village Station but there is still a half mile trek to the track. Perhaps NYRA will arrange for buses to shuttle riders from this train station to Belmont.

As a local taxpayer and dedicated horseplayer it is sad that $1.8 billion of my taxes have gone to construct a new Yankee Stadium and Mets Stadium yet they canceled the train to the best stadium of them all. I hope the ballfans enjoy spending $500 watching their favorite steroid fueled meathead chase balls and I hope they cheer really loud when the PA system tells them to.

Here is a few of my favorite photos of Belmont Train Station

From Power Cap

From Power Cap

From Power Cap

GREAT DAY AT THE BIG-A AND THE NIGHTMARE ON THE A TRAIN

Spent Saturday at the Big-A, and took some rather poor shots of the Whirlaway entries in the paddock, which I will bore you with. Even more boring is a rant about public transport and another post about how much race fans love going to the track.



One of my favorite things about the Big-A is that the subway stops a few hundred feet from the main entrance. It brings me great pleasure to ride the rails from my home to my favorite place in my favorite borough, reading my favorite newspaper while I try to beat every favorite in sight. The time flies, it is relaxing and I enjoy sitting shoulder to shoulder with my working class compatriots. This weekend however the train ride was extended by 40 minutes due to track work. Not only did I miss the opener, I missed cashing the early double thanks to the MTA. The A train from 168th street is express and makes occasional stops southbound from uptown Manhattan to South Ozone park. However on Saturday the A train was local all the way from 207st to the Aqueduct station. When the train is express it is a somewhat long 45 minute ride with 15 stops. On Saturday with the express trains canceled the all local A-train was an eternity with over 40 stops and 1 hours 30 mins from where I get start my trip on the #1 line in the Bronx. Next time if I or anyone else intends on taking the A-train on the weekend they should check the MTA website for work information.


While many complain about the racing and the empty grandstand at the Big-A I am one of those that relishes the NYRA winter product. Why does the public stay away? Scenes like the empty grandstand pictured here should only be seen on dark days. How could it be that someone like myself who loves the Big-A is so unique. Where are the other racefans? Out of 20 million metro area residents only 4,000 could find their way to the Big A on Saturday?


While many try to gain an edge on the confusing mishmash of shippers at Gulfstream I prefer the cozy confines of the almost closed circuit at the Big-A. While many are looking for a challenge, the Big-A keeps it simple, as there are basically two distances (6F & mile 70 yards) on a very biased surface, which further weeds out the losers. One factor that makes the inner track easier to handicap than some other tracks is at the Big-A a given class of of race usually features a very familiar cast of characters with very plain form. While certainly not top class racing I feel that the Big-A is the most formful racing all year. After a challenging Gourmet like offering of Saratoga and the fall championship meet/Breeders Cup the Big-A is like going home to eat a well rounded home cooked meal. Not flashy, but nourishing, tasty and very familiar. The inner track is something I look forward to all year and something that gets me through the long northern Winter.

Barrier Reef won the Whirlaway after stalking the pace and outgaming Roman Emperor in the lane. Perhaps these two are on the triple crown trail now, they seem like they could get the ten panels of the derby.