The 2024 Belmont Stakes wraps up at Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival concluded Sunday with New York breds center stage. For its last day, a special New York showcase featured six races.

Martin and Wendie Reed drove from Buffalo to watch the Belmont Stakes but got their dates mixed up and thought Sunday was the biggest day. "It was a happy accident for sure. We were driving up on Saturday and my buddy said, 'Do you know the race is on Saturday?' And I was like, 'Oh my goodness. I forgot about that,'" explained Martin.

Saturday's Belmont Stakes race generated nearly $126 million in all-sources betting handle, which is a NYRA record for a non-triple crown year. A sellout crowd of 50,000 people witnessed history as the big race was held at Saratoga Race Course for the first time.

"Well, I’m glad they made money but I’m glad we made a little bit of our own money today," said Woody Rao from New Hartford, celebrating his birthday with family.

"Horse racing is moving in the right direction in that it’s attractive to betters and gamblers around the world and the fact that that happened here in Saratoga demonstrates that the race course adds value to the marketing effort," stated Todd Shimkus, President and CEO of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.

Watching both the jockeys and horses compete has also inspired young fans, for a few different reasons. Sophia Scott from East Greenbush said she may want to become a jockey one day, while Richard Vemula from New Hartford said he's only interested in the money horse racing brings.