Ongoing wildfires in Canada have blanketed the northeast of the U.S. with unhealthy smoke that has prompted a number of professional sports teams to postpone games over air quality concerns.

Now, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is calling on officials to postpone horse racing in New York ahead of the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, until its deemed safe.

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced that all live racing at Belmont Park on Thursday was canceled "due to poor air quality conditions," which followed an earlier announcement that all practices that day had also been canceled. 

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"Safety is paramount as we navigate this unprecedented situation," NYRA CEO and President David O’Rourke said in a statement. 

"NYRA will actively monitor all available data and weather information as we work toward the resumption of training and racing both here at Belmont Park and at Saratoga Race Course. Based on current forecast models and consultation with our external weather services, we remain optimistic that we will see an improvement in air quality on Friday."

PETA issued a statement Wednesday calling for the cancelation of Thursday’s events, but PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo also asked that the NYRA consider potentially canceling all horse racing throughout the weekend if the air quality conditions persist. 

"If the air in New York is unsafe for humans, it will be worse for horses running at top speed," Guillermo said in a statement. "The safety of the horses must come before profit and tradition, even if it means postponing the Belmont Stakes."

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that the Belmont Stakes could be canceled if the air quality index on Saturday exceeds 200, the Environmental Protection Agency benchmark for air that is very unhealthy for everyone.

"People come from all over the country," Hochul said. "It’s huge for the local economy. And so we ... hopefully can get this going, but there’s no assurance of what the weather’s going to be. So it’s going to be a last-minute decision, I’m sure."

 If the air quality is measured at 150 to 200, only horses that pass an additional pre-race veterinary examination will be permitted to race, Hochul added. 

Guillermo said Thursday that allowing the horses to race in Long Island this weekend "is foolhardy and dangerous." 

"People are being advised to stay in and all outdoor activities have been canceled, yet the governor wants Thoroughbreds to run at breakneck speed in this air," Guillermo’s statement read. 

"We urge the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and the New York Racing Association to cancel the races until conditions are safe for the animals they claim to care about." 

According to the Air Quality Index (AQI) Forecast for New York State on Friday morning, air quality health advisories were still in effect for Long Island, with an AQI of 120. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A liberal organization says Gov. Gavin Newsom's, D-Calif., proposal to curb gun rights through a new amendment to the Constitution is "offensive" grandstanding.

"I find it really frustrating as a liberal because we all know this is never gonna happen," Lara Smith of The Liberal Gun Club told Fox News Digital. "I think it's grandstanding and I find it offensive."

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Newsom unveiled his proposal for the 28th Amendment to the Constitution on Thursday morning.

"The 28th Amendment will enshrine in the Constitution common sense gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and gun owners overwhelmingly support – while leaving the 2nd Amendment unchanged and respecting America’s gun-owning tradition," the California Democrat said in a press release.

Newsom's proposed amendment would not abolish the Second Amendment, which protects the right to bear firearms. However, it would increase the federal minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21, mandate universal background checks, implement a waiting period for all gun purchases, and ban so-called "assault weapons."

The proposal largely mirrors California's own gun control laws, which are among the strictest in the nation. His four agenda items also had wide support among American voters in a recent Fox News poll.

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"California’s nation-leading gun safety laws serve as a valuable blueprint for other states and Congress to save lives," the press release from Newsom's office reads. "California’s gun safety laws work."

The Golden State has one of the lowest rates of firearm mortality in the country, according to 2021 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same CDC data showed New Hampshire — which received an F score on its gun laws from the pro-gun control Giffords Law Center — has an even lower firearm mortality rate than California.

Smith said Newsom is "twisting the statistics" to support his cause, because "gun mortality is not a single issue."

"I just wish that Newsom would actually start focusing on the real issues and real solutions," she said. The Liberal Gun Club supports what it calls root cause mitigation, a strategy that address the driving factors of suicide, homicide and mass shootings.

Ultimately, Smith doesn't believe the amendment stands a chance of passing.

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The Constitution can be amended in two ways: By a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress, or through a convention of states under Article V.

Since Republicans control the House of Representatives and Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate, an amendment restricting gun rights would almost certainly fail to pass through Congress. So Newsom is calling for a convention of states to meet and draft his proposed amendment.

Two-thirds of the state legislatures would have to first pass a resolution calling for such a convention before it could meet, then if the convention adopts a proposed amendment, the amendment would head back to state legislatures for ratification. Three-fourths of the state legislatures would have to support the amendment for it to be added to the Constitution.

"I don't know where [Newsom] thinks he's getting the three fourths of the states from," Smith said.

The most recent amendment ratified was the 27th Amendment in 1992, more than 200 years after its original proposal.

"If you keep focusing on things like these undefined supposed solutions that don't actually say how they're gonna work, we don't get anything done," Smith said. "We don't actually solve the problems that the country is facing. I think it's window dressing."