B-Roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: A New Era for Belmont Park: Governor Hochul Cuts the Ribbon to Reopen Iconic Race Course Following Three-Year Reconstruction

Governor Kathy Hochul today cut the ribbon of the new Belmont Park as it welcomes racing fans for the first time since its closure for reconstruction in 2023. Following a $555 million reconstruction project, the new Belmont Park is a world-class sports and entertainment destination, anchored by a brand new five-story grandstand and newly accessible green space

B-ROLL of the Governor cutting the ribbon at the new world-class Belmont Park is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

What an incredible day this is. Could not be happier to be here at the brand new unveiling of Belmont Park. I want to thank a number of individuals who've made this extraordinary day happen. Want to acknowledge, first of all, our host, Marc Holliday, the Chairman of NYRA. You'll be hearing from him momentarily, but let's give him another round of applause.

Marc's the first one who showed me a little video on his phone. He says, "I've got this idea." And I looked at that, and he says, "I don't know if you're going to like it." I said, "I'm in love with it. Let's make that happen." Thank you for being the resident visionary and everybody at NYRA. David O'Rourke, the President and CEO of NYRA. Thank you, David.

I want to thank our friends in labor. Ryan Stanton, the Executive Director of the Long Island Federation of Labor. Matty Aracich, President of the Nassau Suffolk Building Trades Association. Anthony Simon, our General Chairman of SMART. Labor made this building, and I want to thank everybody who worked so tirelessly to make this happen. Of course, we have our leaders in the State Legislature. Senator Joe Addabbo, Senator Leroy Comrie. Assemblymember Solages, Assemblymember Woerner, Assemblymember Keith Powers. And from my administration, I want to acknowledge the Chairman of ESD, Kevin Law. Hope Knight, the President and CEO of ESD. Janette Moy, the Commissioner of OGS. And Lily Fan, the Commissioner of SLA.

Truly a historic 24 hours for New York. Two world-class sporting venues on the opposite ends of the state opening their doors 18 hours apart. Last night, for all the Buffalo Bills fans in the audience. Oh, okay. Okay. It can be your second favorite team. I'm okay with that. I get it. Last night, our Buffalo Bills opened their first game at the brand-new Highmark Stadium, and the energy was electric, and I lost my voice and got home very late. But today, all days are, of the racing world are on this place. Everybody's paying attention to what we're unveiling here today.

When the starting bell rings and the horses thunder out of the gate, a whole new era of racing officially begins. Three and a half years ago, we made a big bet on Belmont, $455 million loan, loan. It's getting paid back. When's our first payment? To launch one of the largest racetrack projects ever in history. We made the bet because we saw the enormous economic potential, which is what is behind everything we do. We set out to build an international racing hub that could double as a concert and entertainment space, a versatile venue that belongs not to racing fans, just racing fans alone, but to the entire community.

This was so important for our elected officials here as well. A place that's welcoming to everyone. A venue that'll generate over $155 million in annual economic impact and sustain thousands of permanent jobs right here on Long Island. And that's on top of the 3,700 hardworking union members who built this space and created something truly remarkable. Let's give them all another round of applause.

And at the reimagined Belmont Park, fans will experience racing like never before. A gleaming five-story grandstand and terrace, synthetic track to allow racing through the winter, high-end dining and drinking options, incredible suites, and here's my favorite part, five times as much green space. So for the first time ever, fans can watch the races right from the infield.

We also enlarged the paddock area, which lets more people get to the horses, and that's a big hit for families. I know if we had planned it with my granddaughter and daughter in mind they would have loved to have been here. My daughter loved nothing more. We grew up near a track. I would just take her and just look through the fence and watch the horses go by, and it was just an exciting day for a mother and daughter to experience our love of horses.

So we're taking care of people, we're taking care of the horses, and the great backstretch workers who make this sport run. We built them better dorms, new kitchen, recreation, gym, and giving them what I want, what is so important to me, what we've done up at Saratoga, access to childcare, free childcare, mental health and addiction services. Because the racing industry does not exist without these men and women who've devoted their lives to this sport.

With the new Belmont Park, New York enters into a league of its own. Other states may think they have iconic racing venues, but no state has two, one with its own distinct character and heritage. We have Saratoga, the oldest sporting venue in the country. Walking through the gates there, as I have many times, is like taking a step back in time. You can't help but fall in love with it. And here at Belmont Park, with this futuristic venue, we're carrying racing forward into the next 100 years. That's a combination, that contrast. Saratoga and Belmont is unmatched anywhere. And that's not just me saying this. It's the Breeders' Cup who saw what we were doing here. Breeders' Cup. Yes, I, each time I saw people from the Breeders' Cup, I harassed them and said, "We're next, right? We're next." And I saw that they decided now to bring the championships back to Belmont Park. That is a big deal. That is a big deal. So Churchill Downs is watching us as well.

So remember, when NYRA had to move Belmont Stakes to Saratoga, no one was quite sure what the impact would be. Would it still work? Would people still want to come up there at the scale they used to come here? And the shift was seamless. Saratoga was a fabulous host, fabulous for three years. People loved it. So Churchill Downs calls up and says, "How about we do something special together? Let's create an annual Thoroughbred Championship Series. Six races featuring the best three-year-olds in the world." Three venues, Churchill Downs, Saratoga, and of course, brand-new Belmont.

So from Buffalo to Belmont, we're investing in world-class sporting venues that bring people together because we're really in an era where people feel so separate from each other, separate from the physical world. Everything's online, and the addictive algorithms that push us further apart. But these great sporting venues bring us together in a communal sense. They put us on common ground, and we crave that connection. We crave being around others physically in person. So those who say, "What is the future of racing?" The future is unfolding right here. In the post-pandemic world, people realize, "I miss being with people."

So yes, people are coming to our sporting venues. They're coming to our tracks. They're going everywhere. You could watch movies in your home, but you want to be in theaters with other people, and that is what's so important that we're doing here now. And so I just want to say this: When we begin this next chapter of Belmont's storied history, remember, we're building on a great legacy.

This is where Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by a stunning 31 lengths, and I'm old enough to remember that. I watched every second of it. Where its jockey Julie Krone rode her way into history. Where Birdstone shocked the world. And now the world is set, the stage is set, and the world is ready for the next era of legendary riders and horses, and the next century of transcendent moments right here.

I'll see you all in the Winner's Circle. Congratulations. Let me bring up Assemblymember Solages, who is - this is her district, and she's been a driving force behind taking care of the needs of the community. I want to congratulate her on this great success as well. Assemblymember?