US Horse Racing's Triple Crown Will Look Different This Year
2020-05-26
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1The New York Racing Association announced this week that the Belmont Stakes will take place on June 20.
2The Belmont is one of three major races for three-year-old thoroughbred horses in the United States.
3Together, the races are known as horse racing's Triple Crown.
4The Triple Crown will look very different this year, from start to finish.
5For the first time, the Belmont Stakes will be run before the other two races, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in Baltimore.
6Horses competing in the Belmont Stakes normally run about 2.4 kilometers.
7But this year, the distance has been cut to two kilometers.
8And Belmont Park - the track where the race takes place - will be mostly quiet.
9There will be no racing fans cheering on the horses.
10"I think we're going to have a big field," said New York Racing Association president Dave O'Rourke.
11In this case, "field" means the group of horses taking part in the race.
12O'Rourke added, "I think it'll be a really competitive field. I think the dynamics of the race are different."
13The Triple Crown races will not be taking place in their usual order for the first time since 1931.
14The Kentucky Derby was moved from May 2 to September 5 because of efforts to stop the coronavirus.
15The health crisis also forced the postponement of Preakness from May 16 to October 3.
16An out-of-order Triple Crown will be a different kind of competition.
17The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont are usually run during a five-week period in the spring.
18By the summer and autumn, the three-year-old thoroughbreds are more experienced.
19"It's going to help some, it's going to hurt others," trainer Mark Casse said.
20"You're going to see a lot stronger, probably a bigger, stronger horse from May."
21The Belmont was supposed to take place on June 6.
22But horse racing in New York was halted in March after a racetrack worker was found to have the disease COVID-19.
23New York Governor Andrew Cuomo did not announce his decision to restart racing until May 16.
24Live racing is slowly restarting across North America.
25Track owners feel they can operate safely and earn money without fans watching.
26There are two reasons for this: earnings from television broadcasts and online betting.
27Last year, many people who bet on the Belmont Stakes did not actually attend the race.
28Off-track betting operations took in more than $90 million on the race.
29Bob Baffert has trained two Triple Crown winners over the years.
30This year, he hopes to build up his horses for the three races with the Belmont as the first event.
31"I think they're going to be more competitive with that spaced-out time," Baffert said.
32"At the end of the day, the end game is the Kentucky Derby. That September 5 date is what we're all shooting for."
33I'm Pete Musto.
1The New York Racing Association announced this week that the Belmont Stakes will take place on June 20. 2The Belmont is one of three major races for three-year-old thoroughbred horses in the United States. Together, the races are known as horse racing's Triple Crown. 3The Triple Crown will look very different this year, from start to finish. 4For the first time, the Belmont Stakes will be run before the other two races, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in Baltimore. Horses competing in the Belmont Stakes normally run about 2.4 kilometers. But this year, the distance has been cut to two kilometers. And Belmont Park - the track where the race takes place - will be mostly quiet. There will be no racing fans cheering on the horses. 5"I think we're going to have a big field," said New York Racing Association president Dave O'Rourke. In this case, "field" means the group of horses taking part in the race. 6O'Rourke added, "I think it'll be a really competitive field. I think the dynamics of the race are different." 7The Triple Crown races will not be taking place in their usual order for the first time since 1931. The Kentucky Derby was moved from May 2 to September 5 because of efforts to stop the coronavirus. The health crisis also forced the postponement of Preakness from May 16 to October 3. 8An out-of-order Triple Crown will be a different kind of competition. The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont are usually run during a five-week period in the spring. By the summer and autumn, the three-year-old thoroughbreds are more experienced. 9"It's going to help some, it's going to hurt others," trainer Mark Casse said. "You're going to see a lot stronger, probably a bigger, stronger horse from May." 10The Belmont was supposed to take place on June 6. But horse racing in New York was halted in March after a racetrack worker was found to have the disease COVID-19. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo did not announce his decision to restart racing until May 16. 11Live racing is slowly restarting across North America. Track owners feel they can operate safely and earn money without fans watching. There are two reasons for this: earnings from television broadcasts and online betting. 12Last year, many people who bet on the Belmont Stakes did not actually attend the race. Off-track betting operations took in more than $90 million on the race. 13Bob Baffert has trained two Triple Crown winners over the years. This year, he hopes to build up his horses for the three races with the Belmont as the first event. 14"I think they're going to be more competitive with that spaced-out time," Baffert said. "At the end of the day, the end game is the Kentucky Derby. That September 5 date is what we're all shooting for." 15I'm Pete Musto. 16Stephen Whyno reported on this story for The Associated Press. George Grow adapted this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 17____________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19thoroughbred - adj. of top quality, pure-blooded 20track - n. an area prepared for a racing event 21dynamics - n. forces that leads to progress or change 22bet - v. to risk money or something else against others; to compete in a game of chance 23shoot for - phrasal verb. to aim to do something 24We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.