In the lexicon of horse racing there are many different terms to measure the margin of victory. Going from closest to largest; a horse can win by a nose, head, or neck, by fractions of a length, or by a length or more. Though sometimes, there is no margin of victory to measure – when horses reach the finish line equally together. When that happens, … Continue reading Too Close To Call
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 … Continue reading Aqueduct Park Goes Dark
For more than 130 years, Aqueduct Racetrack has been a cornerstone of New York horse racing. Opened in 1894 in South Ozone Park, Queens, the track became known as The Big A and hosted some of the sport’s most prestigious races, including the Wood Memorial Stakes, a major prep race for the Kentucky Derby. Generations of racing fans flocked to Aqueduct, making it the last … Continue reading The Big A Goes Away
No Horse swept through the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes with the same dramatic fashion, style and power as SECRETARIAT. And it’s fair to say that we will never witness such dominance again. He won 16 of 21 races, graced the covers of national magazines and was twice named Horse of the Year. But it was the Belmont Stakes that SECRETARIAT is best remembered. … Continue reading Belmont G.O.A.T.
This is the time on the calendar when Derby hopefuls should be concentrating on two-turn preps and qualifying points. The Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct Park on Saturday is a bit counter intuitive to this thinking. The Gotham is contested as a one-turn mile; however, the winner does receive 50 Derby qualifying points, a total that should be good enough for a spot in The Run for … Continue reading Who Wins The Gotham Stakes?
The Derby Trail is open for business this weekend with three Kentucky Derby prep races. The winner in each of their respective races will earn twenty qualifying points in hopes of drawing a spot in the gate the first Saturday in May. These three contests are the feature events for Saturday: The Withers Stakes at Aqueduct Park. Inaugurated in 1874, one year before the Kentucky Derby, … Continue reading Road To The Kentucky Derby Getting Busier
Prior to 2013 the traditional qualifying factor for horses wanting to participate in the Kentucky Derby was total Graded Stakes purse earnings. The more money an eligible horse won, the increased chance of entering the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. But beginning in 2013 Churchill Downs scratched the classic earnings method in favor of a points-based system which totally revamped the traditional Prep Races. These Prep … Continue reading When ‘The Road’ Began
It appears the New York jockey colony and NYRA have, at least for the moment, reached an accord as racing resumed at Aqueduct Park on Thursday. Saturday at Aqueduct brings us the 2025 edition of the $500,000, Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap. Held around one turn, the Cigar Mile has long been an important race in the dirt mile division since its inaugural running in 1988 … Continue reading Who Wins The Cigar Mile?
If NYRA and the New York jockey colony can reach some form of an accord on Thursday, Aqueduct Park has a good card come Saturday. One of the feature races is the Grade 2, $250,000 dollar Remsen Stakes. 2-year-olds will be tested around two turns at a 1 1/8-mile distance with the top five finishers being awarded Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Here is a brief … Continue reading Who Wins The Remsen Stakes?
It was a short card at Aqueduct on Sunday. The New York jockey colony refused to ride after the first race because of a number of recent problems they have said they were having with NYRA management. The latest episode occurred around the time of the first race when the jockeys learned that NYRA Assistant Clerk of Scales Brian Pochman was told to leave work … Continue reading Another Blackeye For NYRA
