The rebirth of Belmont Park delivered a fittingly nostalgic script on Sept. 18, as Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey swept the early daily double and new arrival Antonio Fresu piloted longshot Lisa Joy to victory in the first race run at the reimagined track in more than three years.
Live racing returned to Belmont following a roughly $550–$555 million modernization project that shuttered the historic oval for over three seasons, with the last card at the old facility staged in July 2023. The refurbished venue opened with a nine-race program and a sellout crowd of about 6,000 on hand, many of them on their feet as the gate opened at 1:30 p.m. for a 1 1/4-mile maiden special weight on the inner turf for fillies and mares three and up. That opener, carrying a $150,000 purse, fell to Andrew Rosen's British-bred Lisa Joy, who rallied from midpack under Fresu to score by a narrow margin for McGaughey and stamp herself into track lore as the first winner at the new Belmont Park.
According to race coverage and chart details, Lisa Joy broke from the middle of the gate and was allowed to settle inside while a trio of extreme longshots — Fancy n' Flight, Miss Snaffles, and One Bad Habit — vied for the early lead through moderate fractions. Fresu bided his time behind that pace, saving ground until the field turned for home, then angled Lisa Joy off the rail, split rivals and surged late to get up by a head in a blanket finish. Sent off at 12-1 after finishing off the board in her prior start, she rewarded backers with a $26.72 win mutual and capped a sizable opening-day upset that immediately reminded bettors the new turf plays fair to patient riders willing to cut the corner and wait for room. McGaughey's presence in the opening winner's circle echoed decades of New York fall campaigns, and the trainer made sure to pose for the photo, telling reporters he understood the historical weight of saddling the first winner at the rebuilt track.
The story did not stop with the opener. McGaughey doubled down in race 2, sending out Davidson, a 2-year-old filly by American Pharoah, to break her maiden at second asking under jockey Manny Franco. That victory completed the early double for the barn and connections Bradley Thoroughbreds, Mike Carter, Cambron Equine and Jeff Walsh, underscoring that McGaughey's operation remains as effective as ever with patient, late-developing turf and dirt types. The New York Racing Association noted that McGaughey has long been a Belmont fixture, and he himself pointed back to his 1989 Belmont Stakes win with Easy Goer while expressing how much he had missed training and racing on Long Island during the hiatus. In a separate interview broadcast on America's Day at the Races, McGaughey called Belmont his favorite place to race and highlighted the symmetry of Rosen owning both Lisa Joy and Chief's Crown, who won the inaugural Breeders' Cup race — another “first” now linked across eras by the same owner. He later added that the new plant was “a beautiful place” and “different than what I expected,” a nod to how thoroughly the facility has been transformed.
For Fresu, the opening win represented the payoff to a planned career pivot. A native of Italy who has spent recent seasons riding full-time in Southern California, Fresu signaled in late August that he would relocate his tack to New York specifically to be on hand for Belmont's reopening, describing it as a new challenge and a chance to test himself on one of the country's deepest jockey colonies. Industry coverage reported that he and fellow rider Samuel Marin both targeted the Sept. 18 Belmont fall meet opener as their starting point in the circuit. Fresu's decision looked instantly shrewd: he needed only one mount to secure his first New York win in a highly publicized spot, and the Associated Press and NYRA both quoted him calling it “an amazing feeling to be part of this historical track and historical reopening of Belmont Park,” while praising the new grandstand, track surface and backstretch facilities. Early meet statistics released by NYRA show Fresu with one win and one second from seven mounts through the first days of the stand, hinting that the opener could be a springboard rather than a one-off headline.
The reopening day also served as a showcase for what NYRA officials have billed as a modernized Belmont designed for the next generation of racing fans. Previews and news reports ahead of the meet emphasized the upgraded grandstand and fan amenities, as well as a more compact footprint that aims to keep energy concentrated and improve sightlines across the expansive property. The sellout crowd and enthusiastic response described in newswire coverage — fans cheering even before the first field of ten went into motion — suggested that the combination of history and fresh infrastructure resonated. The Daily Racing Form characterized the return as “world-class racing” accompanied by “much fanfare,” underscoring that, beyond the sentimental value, NYRA intends Belmont to remain a major stage for top-level stakes and competitive allowance racing. While full handle figures for the opening card were not immediately available in public reports, the robust attendance and wagering on a nine-race program anchored by competitive turf and dirt events point to a strong baseline for the 46-day fall meet scheduled through early December.
From a handicapping perspective, Lisa Joy's performance offers an early template for how the inner turf might play during the meet. The filly did not flash brilliant early speed, yet was close enough to strike when the leaders began to tire, and she showed the kind of acceleration through traffic that often separates Belmont turf winners from mere trip horses. Her ability to save ground, then knife between rivals rather than circling wide, may be particularly valuable if the reconfigured course continues to reward efficiency over dramatic, sweeping moves — something sharp bettors will monitor as more data accumulates in the opening weeks. McGaughey's double, with a late-running turf filly and a developing 2-year-old, also reinforces his well-earned reputation for targeting the right spots on big-opening cards with horses poised to peak, a pattern that has paid off for years at Belmont and likely will again as this meet unfolds.
The broader schedule released by NYRA indicates that Belmont's fall stand will run from Sept. 18 to Dec. 6, with a slate of stakes expected to draw shippers from across the Mid-Atlantic and Kentucky once the track settles into its new rhythm. For horseplayers, the opening day story is less about one filly at 12-1 and more about a signal: familiar names like McGaughey remain potent at this venue, ambitious riders like Fresu can make immediate inroads, and the revamped facility appears ready to host high-quality racing with the same tactical nuances that defined the old Belmont, even as the grandstand and fan experience look dramatically different. In the months ahead, as major stakes return and the local jockey and trainer standings take shape, Lisa Joy's head win and the McGaughey–Fresu combo will stand as the first chapter in Belmont Park's new era — and a reminder that, sometimes, the past and future meet right at the quarter pole.