Ol blue eyes' 'New York, New York' back at Belmont
June 3, 2011NEW YORK (AP) - Sinatra is ``king of the hill'' again at the Belmont Stakes.
The New York Racing Association is returning to Frank Sinatra's classic version of ``New York, New York'' when the horses step onto the track for next Saturday's $1 million race at Belmont Park.
The decision was announced Friday, a year after NYRA replaced Sinatra's tune with the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys rendition of ``Empire State of Mind.''
No reason was given for the return to ``New York, New York,'' which had greeted the post parade of horses from 1997-2009. At the time of the change last year, NYRA marketing director Neema Ghazi said ``Empire State of Mind'' was a ``quintessential 21st century theme song for New York City.''
``Sidewalks of New York'' was performed before the Belmont Stakes until Sinatra took charge in '97.
NYRA issued a news release to trumpet the return of ol' blue eyes' voice to the Belmont.
Composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb, ``New York, New York'' is the theme song from the 1977 Martin Scorsese film by the same name. The song did not become a hit until Sinatra performed it at a 1978 concert. He later recorded it on an album.
The Belmont is expected to feature Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness winner Shackleford. And just before post time at 6:35 p.m., Sinatra's voice will be back on ``top of the heap.''