The Saratoga Springs City School District has made the decision to close school the day before the Belmont Stakes.

School Superintendent Michael Patton told NewsChannel 13’s Mark Mulholland on Monday afternoon that the school will close on Friday, June 7.  This is the second day of the Belmont Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course and one day before the third leg of horse racing’s triple crown at Saratoga.

Racing usually takes place at Saratoga in July and August when school is out, so this is a first-of-its-kind event.

Big crowds are expected at the track on that Friday, and Patton said it would have been hard for school buses to navigate smaller side streets lined with cars from people coming to the track. Also, since the school is closed, many of the older students now will be available to fill the positions needed to serve tens of thousands of racing fans.