Aqueduct Racetrack will race for the final time on Sunday, ending a 132-year run in New York. The closure comes as Belmont Park reopens Sept. 18, shifting the state’s racing center to Elmont.
Tom Durkin on Aqueduct and Belmont
Tom Durkin, the retired New York race-caller, said the setup had become untenable. “I don't go to the store anymore. I buy toilet paper on Amazon... It makes absolutely zero sense to have two racetracks — Aqueduct and Belmont — let alone two racetracks owned and operated by the same entity [NYRA] just eight miles from each other. This was bound to happen.”
That is the practical argument behind the closure. One track is ending while the other comes back with a larger, newer operation, and the overlap leaves little room for the old model to survive.
Sept. 14, 1959 reopening
Aqueduct opened in 1894 on 100 acres of farmland in South Ozone Park, Queens. Thomas Reilly, Francis Reilly, and Robert Tucker opened the 6-furlong track on Sept. 27, 1894 with an unsanctioned six-race card.
The track later reopened after a $34.5-million renovation on Sept. 14, 1959, drawing 42,473 fans. The New York Racing Association called it “Racing's Wonder Track,” and Newsday described it this way: “What Aqueduct lacks in charm and intimacy it more than makes up for with its huge vastness. It is an architectural wonder. In this colossal giant one can easily get lost and it is the perfect hiding place for bettors from... bookmakers and mothers-in-law”
The rebuilt venue included 18 escalators, an elevator, 20,000 outdoor seats in a four-tier grandstand, another 14,000 seats in air-conditioned restaurants and lounges, and 738 parimutuel windows. It was built to handle big crowds, and it did.
Belmont Park on Sept. 18
Belmont Park reopens Sept. 18 as a $455 million all-new facility on a 430-acre site in Elmont. The design includes a 275,000-square foot five-level glass-enclosed grandstand by Populous, seating for up to 9,000 fans, four racecourses, and access for up to 50,000 fans on the biggest racing days.
The site also includes UBS Arena and Belmont Park Village. The biggest racing days include the Belmont Stakes and the 2027 Breeders' Cup.
For Aqueduct, Sunday is the last call. The track that once stood as a blue-collar fixture in Queens now gives way to a newer setup eight miles away, and the final race day ends the old balance in New York racing.
