If you’re a fan of racing at Saratoga, then you have hit the mother lode in 2025.

And perhaps 2026 as well…but don’t get used to it.

There will be a record 49 days of racing at Saratoga Race Course this year, and a decision on a similar schedule for 2026 may come later this summer.

NYRA president and CEO Dave O’Rourke says once Belmont Park reopens in the fall of 2026, the Spa will revert to its previous 40-day schedule.

“There definitely can be too much of a good thing and being here on July 4 is a convenient release valve as we’re building Belmont,” O’Rourke said. “But once we get into the new building at Belmont, we’re going back to 40 days at Saratoga.

The NYRA 2025 run at Saratoga began in early June with the second edition of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

The July 4th Racing Festival is the first time NYRA has spent July 4th at the Spa.

Though the actual racing has the Saratoga brand, the dates technically are part of the Belmont at the Big A meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, because NYRA only has approval for 40 days of racing at the Spa.

Basically, it’s Belmont at the Big A at the Saratoga…that’s a mouthful.

When Belmont was closed at the end of the 2023 spring/summer for reconstruction, the 2024 Belmont Stakes (G1) cards were shifted to Saratoga. But not the July 4th weekend races.

This year, the July 4th move to Saratoga was made to better accommodate a turf-heavy slate of races that includes two grade 1 Stakes: the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes and the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes.

“We ran those races at Aqueduct last year and they really didn’t work,” O’Rourke said. “Looking at the way Labor Day fell this year, we felt adding this week made sense. It’s just a better venue for the racing.”

While it will be interesting to see what kind of attendance and handle numbers the four days produce, they figure to easily top last year’s figures at Aqueduct, if the weather holds form to the forecast.

As for a decision on plans for next year, the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will return to the Spa for a third and final time and O’Rourke said a decision on the July 4 weekend could come before the end of the summer.

Following Sunday’s card, the 40-day Saratoga meet will officially open July 10th.