[ti:US Horse Racing’s Triple Crown Will Look Different This Year]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]The New York Racing Association announced this week
[00:04.88]that the Belmont Stakes will take place on June 20.
[00:10.60]The Belmont is one of three major races
[00:14.52]for three-year-old thoroughbred horses in the United States.
[00:19.68]Together, the races are known as horse racing's Triple Crown.
[00:26.04]The Triple Crown will look very different this year, from start to finish.
[00:33.16]For the first time, the Belmont Stakes will be run before the other two races,
[00:39.84]the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in Baltimore.
[00:44.40]Horses competing in the Belmont Stakes normally run about 2.4 kilometers.
[00:52.96]But this year, the distance has been cut to two kilometers.
[00:57.96]And Belmont Park – the track where the race takes place – will be mostly quiet.
[01:05.64]There will be no racing fans cheering on the horses.
[01:10.40]"I think we're going to have a big field,"
[01:14.60]said New York Racing Association president Dave O'Rourke.
[01:20.44]In this case, "field" means the group of horses taking part in the race.
[01:27.72]O'Rourke added, "I think it'll be a really competitive field.
[01:33.60]I think the dynamics of the race are different."
[01:37.92]The Triple Crown races will not be taking place in their usual order
[01:43.84]for the first time since 1931.
[01:47.64]The Kentucky Derby was moved from May 2 to September 5
[01:53.72]because of efforts to stop the coronavirus.
[01:58.04]The health crisis also forced the postponement of Preakness from May 16 to October 3.
[02:06.92]An out-of-order Triple Crown will be a different kind of competition.
[02:13.56]The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont
[02:18.04]are usually run during a five-week period in the spring.
[02:23.40]By the summer and autumn, the three-year-old thoroughbreds are more experienced.
[02:30.64]"It's going to help some, it's going to hurt others," trainer Mark Casse said.
[02:38.52]"You're going to see a lot stronger, probably a bigger, stronger horse from May."
[02:45.80]The Belmont was supposed to take place on June 6.
[02:51.72]But horse racing in New York was halted in March after a racetrack worker
[02:58.00]was found to have the disease COVID-19.
[03:02.88]New York Governor Andrew Cuomo did not announce his decision to restart racing until May 16.
[03:12.16]Live racing is slowly restarting across North America.
[03:17.68]Track owners feel they can operate safely and earn money without fans watching.
[03:25.36]There are two reasons for this: earnings from television broadcasts and online betting.
[03:33.80]Last year, many people who bet on the Belmont Stakes did not actually attend the race.
[03:42.32]Off-track betting operations took in more than $90 million on the race.
[03:49.72]Bob Baffert has trained two Triple Crown winners over the years.
[03:56.16]This year, he hopes to build up his horses
[04:00.36]for the three races with the Belmont as the first event.
[04:05.24]"I think they're going to be more competitive with that spaced-out time," Baffert said.
[04:13.00]"At the end of the day, the end game is the Kentucky Derby.
[04:18.52]That September 5 date is what we're all shooting for."
[04:23.24]I'm Pete Musto. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM