[ScottJ]

Went to Belmont yesterday with my wife and we brought a crew of "newbies" with us to experience the racetrack - could not have asked for a better weather day.

First, Panza/Kay and team did a terrific job in pulling together an "experience" to fill the Belmont Stakes to Saratoga gap. More than 11,000 attended with a free mystery voucher (preregister, wife and I were 2x$5.00 while one in our group received a $50.00 free roll) and free t-shirt on offer. Given the $5.00 admission, it would seem that the spinners are way down and that attendance count looked legit based on the backyard action alone.

There were more than enough tellers for wagers (line were 8-10 deep on the first floor with five minutes to post) and the backyard roughly 2-3 deep.

The food trucks in the backyard were plentiful (about 15-20) of all different types and varieties. Most importantly, the cost was certainly reasonable with most lunch items in the $5.00 (excellent grilled cheese with tomato) to $12.00 (seafood) range.

Much to my surprise, some of our group members came loaded for action and were playing $20-$30 per race as we headed towards the stakes action. Playing with exactas, triples, and straight wagers for the most part while I was playing horizontally.

Ironically on the wagering front, the number pickers seemed to do better than I did with two days of handicapping and watching video ahead of time. Isn't that always the case? :-)

That said, Sea Queen crushed my hopes of a major $1000+ score in the ninth race - goodness knows, I thought I was "going to Hawaii" when the field turned for home.

None the less, a great idea by NYRA to build another big Belmont day on the calendar with some new fans coming along for the ride.