Big Brown Bid Could Draw Record Crowd

The potential for Big Brown to become the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years has Belmont Stakes officials preparing for a record turnout at Saturday's race.

In 2004, a record crowd of 120,139 watched as Smarty Jones just missed out on the Triple Crown, losing to a long shot, Birdstone.

"We have to see what happens with the weather, but it has the capability of surpassing the crowd from 2004," a spokesman for the New York Racing Association, John Lee, said.

The last three times a Triple Crown hopeful entered the Belmont Stakes, crowds of more than 100,000 people have been in attendance. The catering service for the Belmont Stakes, Centerplate, plans to staff its hospitality and food tents around Belmont Park with between 1,100 and 1,200 employees, or more than double what they used at last year's race.

The vice president of Centerplate, Michael Billows, said he is bringing enough food for a crowd that will "rival the Smarty Jones Belmont."

Another factor playing into the record attendance predictions is the New York roots of Big Brown. The horse's owner, trainer, and jockey all hail from Long Island.

"The Long Island connection brings a lot of attention from the area," Mr. Lee said. "We want to take advantage of that."

Because of the high expected turnout, travel options have been expanded. The Long Island Rail Road will be operating 18 trains to Belmont from Penn Station and its Jamaica station, starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 9:15 p.m.

The NYRA will also be providing shuttle bus service from the New York City subway station at Jamaica and the parking lot of Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.