Nominations close November 12 for the Belmont Fall Turf Festival featuring 11 stakes worth $3.2M

Nominations will close Thursday, November 12, for the lucrative Belmont Fall Turf Festival slated for Friday, November 27, through Sunday, November 29, and featuring 11 stakes worth $3.2 million in total purse money, at Belmont Park.

For more information and to nominate horses, please visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/horsemen/.

The Belmont Fall Turf Festival is headlined by a trio of $500,000 events on Saturday, November 28, led by the Grade 2 Man o’ War presented by Horse Racing Ireland at 10-furlongs for 3-year-olds and up; along with a pair of 1 5/16-mile stamina tests in the Grade 2 Jockey Club Derby for sophomores and the Grade 3 Jockey Club Oaks for sophomore fillies.

The Man o’ War presented by Horse Racing Ireland may have up to two (2) starting positions reserved, subject to approval by the NYRA Stakes committee, for horses shipping in from outside of North America who may not otherwise qualify through the standard preference order.

The Saturday, November 28 card is supported by the 11-furlong Grade 3, $250,000 Long Island for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up on turf, as well as two $300,000 New York Stallion Stakes Series events going seven furlongs on the main track in the Great White Way for 2-year-olds and the Fifth Avenue for 2-year-old fillies.

The Belmont Fall Turf Festival kicks off on Friday, November 27, with three $175,000 turf stakes, including the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship at six furlongs for 3-year-olds and up; and supported by a pair of Listed events in the Chelsey Flower at 1 1/16-miles for 2-year-old fillies and the one-mile Noble Damsel for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.

A stakes-laden weekend concludes on Sunday, November 29, with the Listed $175,000 Central Park at 1 1/16-miles on turf for 2-year-olds and the $150,000 Lure, a one-mile turf test restricted to 3-year-olds which have not won an open sweepstakes in 2026.

Notable past winners of the Man o’ War presented by Horse Racing Ireland include Hall of Famers Fort Marcy [1970], Secretariat [1973] and Waya [1978], as well as Champions The Axe II [1963], Turbo Jet II [1964], Assagai [1966], Hawaii [1969], Run the Gantlet [1971], Typecast [1972], Dahlia [1974], Snow Knight [1975], Bowl Game [1979], Theatrical [1987], Sunshine Forever [1988], Gio Ponti [2009-10] and Cape Blanco [2011], who all counted a Man o’ War victory within their award-winning seasons.

The Jockey Club Derby and Jockey Club Oaks were both launched in 2019 and have consistently attracted top contenders from North America and Europe.

Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown captured last year’s Jockey Club Derby with Asbury Park, in addition to Jockey Club Oaks wins with McKulick [2022] and Shantisara, who won the 2021 renewal en route to victory in that year’s Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland. Last year’s Jockey Club Oaks was won by Fionn for dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox.

Trainer Charlie Appleby has successfully shipped a talented array of Godolphin color bearers from his Moulton Paddocks in Newmarket, U.K., including Jockey Club Derby victors Yibir [2021], who subsequently took down that year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf en route to Champion Turf Male honors; and four-time Grade/Group 1-winner Nations Pride [2022]. Appleby’s Jockey Club Oaks winners include Eternal Hope [2023] and Beautiful Love [2024].

For the complete Belmont Park stakes schedule, please visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/stakes-schedule/.