History
When Belmont Park opened on May 4, 1905, about 19,000 passengers—nearly half of all attendees—took the railroad to the racetrack on opening day. The first electric trains to Belmont Park ran on October 2, 1905, the opening day of the fall meet. The original station was located south of Hempstead Turnpike; the present terminal north of Hempstead Turnpike was opened in 1957.
When the spring 2009 meet began on April 29, 2009, the MTA halted daily service to Belmont Park station due to insufficient funding in the MTA's budget. The New York Racing Association provided shuttle bus service from the Queens Village station to Belmont Park; the N6, Q2 and Q110 also offered alternate service. On May 28, 2009, Belmont Park service resumed per the MTA board's approval as the New York State legislature passed a funding plan for the MTA. This was the only service reduction enacted as part of the MTA's 2009 "doomsday" budget.
However, regular service to Belmont Park was suspended again in 2010 due to MTA budget cuts and trains only operated on June 4 and 5 during the weekend of the Belmont Stakes. On other racing days, the New York Racing Association provided shuttle bus service between the racetrack and the Queens Village station. On April 26, 2011 the NYRA announced that it would subsidize the cost of providing LIRR service to the racetrack for the entire spring/summer meet.
Read more about this topic: Belmont Park (LIRR Station)
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