New York Racing Association Fact Sheet

The New York Racing Association or NYRA is a non-profit management group that runs the three largest thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the New York state: the Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and the Aqueduct Racetrack. In its earlier years, NYRA also held the Old Jamaica Race Course, but the site has since been demolished and built over.

The Saratoga Race Course which opened in 1863 has been the home of the annual six-week long Travers Stakes, the oldest major thoroughbred horse race in the USA. The race course also has two well known monikers: The Spa - a reference to the nearby mineral springs, and The Graveyard of Favorites - a reference to the fact that most of the major upsets in horse race history have occurred here.

Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island, is situated just outside the city of New York, and is home to the Belmont Stakes and the third leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. Belmont is also distinctly known as one of the most elite horse tracks in the world.

Lastly, the Aqueduct Racetrack, also known as the “Big A” is situated in the neighborhood of South Ozone Park in Queens, New York City. It is a historically monumental race track that dates back to 1894. It had once hosted the prestigious Jockey Club Gold Club (1958 and 1974) and the second ever Breeders’ Cup World Championships in 1985. The Big A is also the headquarters of the New York Racing Association.

NYRA officially came to being on April 1, 1958 and has been in operation since. This organization remains as one of the most powerful racetrack operators in the thoroughbred business. NYRA is famous for its year-round racing operation in all over New York, and sponsors both the Triple Crown and the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. The association’s main strength is its ability to cater to all types of bettors – from the elitist crowd to the blue collars, and everyone else in between. Their years of experience have made them one of the most trusted names in the wagering pool. These days, NYRA is reaching out to online players, and have thus incorporated online wagering systems on their site www.nyra.com.

Jimmy Mayon (MBA, BSEE) is a technologist with an enthusiasm for Horse Racing. During the last 25 years he has been managing banking and online transaction processing technologies for private and public sectors. Today he specializes in open source development using Java, PHP, Linux, and MySQL.

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