Welcome to this guide for buying Belmont Stakes tickets.
Belmont Park is a beautiful place, and horse racing is an exciting sport, and we encourage you to also visit it on days other than Belmont Stakes Day.
For everything you need to know about watching and attending the Belmont Stakes, cut and paste this URL into your Web browser:
http://blog.findingdulcinea.com/2012/05/insiders-guide-to-the-belmont-stakes.htmlNow, nine things you need to know about buying tickets for the Belmont Stakes.
1. DO NOT BUY general admission tickets on eBay, or anywhere else but Belmont Park. People will sell them on eBay for $50-$100, but they don't give you anything you don't get by paying $10 at the gate. General Admission is guaranteed to be available at the gate; $10 for grandstand and $20 for Clubhouse.
2. In my opinion, the best seats are in Sections M to U; these are close enough to the finish line but also up the stretch a bit so you have a great view of the far turn and upper stretch, where the race is run and won. If you are in the Clubhouse in Sections A to G, you get a great view of the finish, but when the horses hit the far turn and stretch, they are a LONG way away from you, you can barely see them, and by the time they come into focus, the race is essentially over.
3. The 3rd floor is better than the 2nd floor. It has a high roof, and you can hear the track announcer very well, while his voice is lost on the 2nd floor.
4. Anything higher than Row M on the 3rd floor is really the 4th floor. These seats are OK, but not as desirable as the ones on the true 3rd floor. Lower rows are no better than higher rows; the seats are sharply tiered, and you do not get blocked by the folks in front of you. In fact, I prefer the high rows (J to M) because it is easy to get in and out, which is important when you're a last minute bettor
5. Anything higher than M in Sections 3A to 3E may be partially obscured by the Turf Terrace, a glass enclosed restaurants. This is definitely the case for anything higher than Row C in Section 3E, and higher than Row G in Section 3D. Look carefully at the seating map.
6. If you buy seats on the apron, make sure they are elevated (on risers). NYRA sometimes sells seats on the ground on the apron, and they do not offer much of a view of the race.
7. NYRA's policy for Belmont Stakes day is that no coolers are allowed in the building, and you cannot bring your own alcohol onto the grounds.
8. Consider parking about a mile from the track, in any legal spot. Then walk to and from the track, and save yourself a lot of time on the getaway. The traffic for getting into the track is not bad, except for around noon time, because people arrive continuously from 10 am to 3 pm.
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