I was at the '99 Belmont, there were about 90,000 there. Bought seats near the 1/8th pole, high up in the grandstand, on our way in for face value. Got in and out of there easily enough (we stayed for the race after the Belmont and still were well on our way back north by the time we heard the live call of Larry Johnson's 4 point play). Had no trouble placing bets, other than one teller that didn't seem to know what he was doing. Was actually pleasantly surprised at my experience that day since I was also at the '95 Breeder's Cup, which saw them screw the pooch despite only about half of 90,000 in the place.

If they're not going to open the infield, probably better to cap attendance. Friend of mine from work told me her husband and son went down last year on a bus trip; they left Saratoga at about 6:00 in the morning, got home well after midnight, and were unable to eat, drink, or gamble for the last few hours at the track. And those last few hours were followed by several hours sitting on a bus going nowhere in the parking lot. These folks will never be going to a Belmont again.

You'd think an organization run by Mr. Guest Experience could handle a huge crowd w/enough advance planning; but even things that should have been lay-ups, such as getting adequate Wi-Fi in there, they were either too cheap or too incompetent to get done, so probably better for them to limit the damage.