With all the spring buzz in Thoroughbred racing focused on the Triple Crown, it can be easy to overlook that the new Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet is here, starting on May 1. The meet, which occupies the dates normally held at Belmont Park, will be among the season’s most important race meets for horsemen and horseplayers.

The state-of-the-art future Belmont Park is under reconstruction and aiming for a fall 2026 opening, which has pushed the majority of New York racing’s spring/summer meet to set up at Aqueduct. Even at Aqueduct, however, the day-to-day quality of racing, purses, and significance of the meet at this time of year will be nearly at Belmont’s level – hence the moniker, “Belmont at the Big A.”

The 2025 Belmont at the Big A meet has been whittled down to just 26 race days at Aqueduct. The remainder of the meet will be held at Saratoga including the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival from June 4 to June 8, and the new July 4 Racing Festival which will round out the spring/summer meet with four more days at Saratoga from July 3 to July 6. The statistics for the meet will include all the dates at Aqueduct plus the June and early July dates at Saratoga through July 6, which will be considered closing day of Belmont at the Big A.

Whether the races are at Aqueduct or Saratoga, Belmont at the Big A will be this spring’s home of many of the country’s best jockeys, trainers, and horses. The meet will host the season’s best daily racing and wagering product, placing it on top of handicappers’ simulcast menus for the next two months. Here is a closer look at the trainers and jockeys to watch out for at the 2025 Belmont at the Big A meet, with a focus on handicapping. Best of luck and enjoy the season.

Belmont at the Big A Leading Trainers

Todd Pletcher (Anne M. Eberhardt/BloodHorse)

Top trainers and horses typically return to New York in full force this season. Looking ahead to Belmont’s trainer’s race, it should come down a battle between Linda Rice and Chad Brown for top honors with Brown holding the advantage. Brown won the corresponding Belmont training title at the 2024 meet with 28 wins (28% win percentage). Rice was second with 22 wins from 133 starters for 17%. Rice had won the 2023 Belmont title with 34 wins from 140 starters for 24%. Brown was the winningest trainer at the 2022 Belmont spring/summer meet with 47 wins.

Rice was the runaway leading trainer at Aqueduct at the January through March portion of the track’s meet and also won the training title at Aqueduct’s more competitive April spring meet, where she edged runner-up Brown 15 wins to 10.

Todd Pletcher can keep pace with Brown and Rice in terms of winning percentage and is likely to compete for the third spot on Belmont at the Big A’s spring leaderboard along with Christophe Clement, Richard Dutrow, Rudy Rogriguez, and Mike Maker, who are all contenders to finish in the top 5.

Bet the best trainers in their best spots at Belmont at the Big A. Based on stats from the last two spring/summer meets, several trends stand out for horseplayers. Brown and Clement win by far the most turf races while Maker, Pletcher, and Rice also win their fair share. Brown’s turf winners mostly come in route races, while Clement, Rice, and George Weaver are the standouts in turf sprints.

On the main track, Linda Rice should win by far the most dirt races. She is dangerous in all categories but wins at a higher percentage in dirt routes (including one mile). Pletcher, likewise, does much better in routes than sprints. Rice also leads in dirt sprint winners at the meet, but other trainers win at higher percentages in those races including Brown, Raymond Handal, and Bill Mott. Weaver, Pletcher, Maker, and Wesley Ward are the primary trainers to watch in 2-year-old races.

Several trainers are coming off very subpar seasons last spring/summer at Belmont at the Big A, and bettors should proceed with caution with this group unless and until you see signs of life. Trainers that had tough meets in 2024 included David Donk (1-for-42), Mark Hennig (1-for-25), Bruce Brown (1-for-25), Eduardo Jones (1-for-24), Charlton Baker (0-for-18), and Mark Casse (0-for-14).

Top Jockeys at Belmont at the Big A

Kendrick Carmouche (Walter Wlodarczyk/NYRA)

Nationally prominent top riders will be returning to New York full time for the Belmont at the Big A season. They will battle it out on a day-to-day basis against top Aqueduct jockeys Manny Franco (winter meet leading jockey) and Kendrick Carmouche (Aqueduct’s April meet leader) in the hunt for the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer title. Franco claimed last year’s 2024 jockey title at this meet with 37 winners, comfortably ahead of runner-up Irad Ortiz Jr. who had 30 wins. Two years ago, Irad finished one victory shy of his brother Jose Ortiz for the jockey title with 58; Jose has since relocated to Kentucky and will ride primarily at Churchill Downs during its spring/summer meet.

Irad Ortiz leads a star-studded group of jockeys coming back to New York from winter stints in Florida and elsewhere. The jockey’s room will also include Javier Castellano, Joel Rosario, John Velazquez, Junior Alvarado, and Flavien Prat who will join local standouts like Jose Lezcano and Dylan Davis in addition to the aforementioned Franco and Carmouche as favorites to comprise the top 10 in the spring/summer Belmont at the Big A jockey standings.

Based on statistics from the 2024 Belmont at the Big A spring/summer season, Flavien Prat had a big edge amongst regular riders in terms of winning percentage at the meet when he won aboard 28 of 102 mounts for 27%. John Velazquez rides selectively and was able to amass a 23% win percentage at last year’s meet (14-for-60). Franco won at a 20% clip and Irad Ortiz won 21% of his mounts.