On Sunday afternoon, June 28, 2026, at roughly 6:00 p.m. the thundering sound of hooves striking the ground and turning for home at Aqueduct Racetrack went forever silent.
After 132 years of entertaining New York City racing fans, the ninth race Sunday served as the last one ever contested at the Big A.
Aqueduct joins the likes of the now-forgotten Jamaica Race Course and Brighton Beach as past homes of the sport in the bustling metropolis.
In less than three months, on September 18th, the New York Racing Association will unveil its half-billion-dollar, reconstructed, ultra-modern Belmont Park as its lone downstate track.
The days of taking the subway to Ozone Park for a day at the races will become just a memory for the millions who visited or worked at the track over the past century.
New York State will ultimately decide what happens to the 200-acre parcel of land.
For countless others, there will always be sweet, funny, or bitter memories attached to Aqueduct, its famed races, and the horses that became stars there, regardless of what it eventually becomes.
Richard Migliore was on hand Sunday for the final curtain at Aqueduct on Sunday.
The Mig works as an analyst for America’s Day at The Races. Since his retirement from racing Mig has worked many a broadcast at all the NYRA tracks for over 15 years.
It was certainly fitting that he was on hand at the grand finale as Richard Migliore is considered Aqueduct royalty.
The Mig will forever be in the record books as the leading rider at Aqueduct Park with 2,238 victories in a career that spanned from 1980-2010.
Migliore was a charismatic rider and a year-round presence on the NYRA circuit, who braved the cold winters and became a fan favorite.
When Migliore thinks about all of the Hall of Fame jockeys who have ridden at the Big A, he takes great pride in being at the top of the wins list.
“Having more wins than anyone else means a lot to me. I know as time goes on that the memory of it will fade and it will probably mean a lot to me and nobody else,” said the 62-year-old Migliore, who had nearly 600 more Big A wins than 2nd-place Angel Cordero (1,656). “But you think about all the great riders who have plied their trade here over the years. It’s a pretty strong list to lead.”
Though he won many of Aqueduct’s premier races, such as the Wood Memorial Stakes and Carter Handicap when they were Grade 1 Stakes, his six wins in the Toboggan Stakes at Aqueduct had a special meaning for him.
“The day I told my dad I would become a jockey, we had seen the Toboggan Handicap, and I said I would win the Toboggan. Every time I won it, I would get emotional thinking about that conversation with my father,” he said.
In the years to come, Migliore says he will never forget the Big A and he hopes fans also will remember the revered city racetrack.
“We are losing a big part of our history, and I hope we never forget just how important Aqueduct has been to New York racing over the years,” he said.
Well said Richard. See you at Saratoga.
