The race at Belmont Park was canceled Thursday due to poor air quality due to wildfires in Canada, and the New York governor warned that the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, could be affected if conditions don’t improve by Saturday .
It was the second straight day that the fires north of the border affected sports in the northeastern United States. In Major League Baseball, the Washington Nationals’ home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday was postponed, a day after games in New York and Philadelphia were canceled.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said one of the biggest racing events could be canceled if Saturday’s air quality index tops 200, the Environmental Protection Agency’s benchmark for air that is very unhealthy for everyone. When air quality is measured at 150 to 200, only horses that pass an additional pre-race veterinary exam are allowed to race, said Hochul, a Democrat.
“People come from all over the country,” Hochul said. “It’s huge for the local economy. And so… hopefully we can get this going, but there’s no guarantee what the weather will be like. So I am sure it will be a last minute decision.”
Patrick McKenna, vice president of communications for the New York Racing Association, said in a statement to The Associated Press that state officials and NYRA have been consulting on how we can “our collective effort to provide the safest environment for thoroughbred horse training and racing.” to create” should proceed further.
McKenna said his group “remains optimistic that conditions will allow practice and racing to resume Friday ahead of Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.”
With weather patterns unlikely to change much, the smoky blanket created by wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia, sending particulate matter clouds as far north as North Carolina and northern Europe, could continue throughout the weekend.
Morning practice at Saratoga Race Course was also canceled Thursday, and a twilight racing program scheduled to open the 2023 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival was cancelled.
Paula Creamer, the 2010 US Women’s Open champion, was among several golfers who wore masks at a Pro-Am in Galloway, New Jersey on Thursday, the day before the start of the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
Creamer also wore sunglasses during most of her nine holes as her eyes became irritated by the hazy, smoky conditions.
Creamer is used to having an unobstructed view of the Atlantic City skyline when posing for a Pro-Am photo. That was different.
“You can’t even make out an outline of it,” she said. “It’s such a wild thing. I don’t know if I’ve ever played in a tournament where we have air and pollution concerns, especially in the United States.”
A statement from MLB said the Diamondbacks-Nationals game has been postponed following discussions with medical and weather experts and the teams “in light of clearly hazardous air quality conditions in Washington, DC.” It was postponed to June 22nd.
The Diamondbacks defeated the Nationals 6-2 on Wednesday as smoke was noticeable but not as heavy. About 20 minutes before Thursday’s game was canceled, Washington manager Dave Martinez said he took his dog for an early morning walk.
“Not good,” Martinez said. “It was fast. … It’s pretty bad out there.”
The NFL’s New York Giants also canceled practice on Thursday.
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AP sportswriters Tom Canavan, Pat Eaton-Robb and Dan Gelston, and AP writer Patrick Stevens contributed to this report.
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