Overview
- Aqueduct will stage its final live-racing card this weekend and then cease live racing operations after more than 131 years as a Queens venue.
- NYRA plans to move its downstate racing program to a rebuilt Belmont Park that is scheduled to open in September, concentrating major meets at a single modern facility.
- The Big A shaped many careers and moments in American racing since opening in 1894, hosting champions, the 1985 Breeders’ Cup and large cultural events that drew tens of thousands.
- Revenue from the Resorts World casino next to Aqueduct, which opened in 2011, helped raise purses and fund upgrades but also factored into NYRA’s decision to consolidate operations.
- State and NYRA officials said returning Aqueduct’s site for redevelopment made the Belmont rebuild possible, a shift that will change where workers, trainers and fans gather for winter racing.