Aqueduct Racetrack, known as the Big A, is a horse racetrack in the neighborhood of Ozone Park in the New York City borough of Queens. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Alternative use: Race track Racetrack is a pencil and paper game, nominally for two players. ... Ozone Park is a New York City neighborhood located in the southwestern part of the borough of Queens bordering Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Howard Beach, and the borough of Brooklyn, about 8 miles east, southeast of Midtown Manhattan. ... New York, NY redirects here. ... The Five Boroughs of New York City: 1: Manhattan 2: Brooklyn 3: Queens 4: Bronx 5: Staten Island In New York City, a borough is a unique form of government used to administer the five constituent counties that make up the city; it differs significantly from other borough forms of... Queens Borough in New York City, in yellow Queens is one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA. Geographically the largest borough in the city, Queens is home to many immigrants and two of New Yorks major airports. ...

History

The racetrack opened in 1894 and rebuilt in 1959, with additional renovations made in 2001 and in 2006.

It is the only racetrack located within the New York City limits. Belmont Park -- also operated by the New York Racing Association -- is located outside the city, in Nassau County. (Some of Belmont's adjoining parking facilities and the Belmont train station are in Queens.) Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York is a half-mile oval harness racing located in Westchester County, just north of the New York City borough of The Bronx. Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in the hamlet of Elmont, New York in Nassau County on Long Island (just outside of New York City). ... The New York Racing Association is the non-profit governing body for thoroughbred horse-racing in the state of New York. ... Nassau County is a suburban county in the New York Metropolitan Area east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York. ... Yonkers Raceway is a harness racing track located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue (between exits 1 and 2 of the New York State Thruway) in Yonkers, New York near New York City border. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Westchester County is a suburban county with about 940,000 residents located in the U.S. state of New York. ... The Bronx is New York Citys northernmost borough. ...

Before 1976, the Inner Dirt Track was a turf course and it was known as the Main Turf Course, with the lone present turf course bearing the name of the Inner Turf Course; following the conclusion of racing in 1975 the grass on the Main Turf Course was uprooted and the Inner Dirt Track took its place to permit year-round racing. (In the first few years after Aqueduct was rebuilt in 1959 the track lay idle from early November until April 1; by 1971 this period had been reduced to from shortly before Christmas until March 1, and in the latter year off-track betting began in New York City, creating a demand for horse racing to be contested in the region throughout the year). It has been suggested that April Fools Day be merged into this article or section. ... Christmas is an annual holiday that marks the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... Off-track betting (or OTB) refers to sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track. ...

Construction of a casino is planned to begin in early 2006 in the Aqueduct grandstand, leading up to the eventual installation of 4,500 video lottery terminals.

Today a single meeting is held annually at Aqueduct; it typically begins on the last Wednesday in October and runs all the way through the first Sunday in May. Races are run on the Inner Dirt Track between the second Wednesday in December and the third Sunday in March in most years. Prior to 1977, a summer meeting was also conducted at Aqueduct, running from mid-June to the end of July. From 1963 through 1967, races normally run at Belmont Park (including the Belmont Stakes) were run at Aqueduct instead while Belmont's grandstand was being rebuilt. Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in the hamlet of Elmont, New York in Nassau County on Long Island (just outside of New York City). ... The Belmont Stakes is a prestigious Grade I stakes race held yearly in June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. ...

Today few important races are run at Aqueduct, mainly due to the unfavorable weather conditions that prevail during its racing season; however the prestigious Jockey Club Gold Cup was usually run there between 1958 and 1974, and what was perhaps the track's most distinctive race, the marathon, 2¼ mile (3621 m) Display Handicap, was last contested in 1990. The track did play host to the second ever Breeders' Cup, in 1985. The Jockey Club Gold Cup is a prestigious thoroughbred horse race open to horses three years old and upward, established in 1919. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The Display Handicap was a thoroughbred horse race formerly run at New York Citys Aqueduct Racetrack. ... The Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championships is an annual series of thoroughbred horse races sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. ...

Every weekend, a flea market is run in the racetrack's north parking lot. Pope John Paul II said mass in front of a large crowd at Aqueduct in October, 1995. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II) born   [] (May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland – April 2, 2005, Vatican City) reigned as Pope of the Catholic...

Aqueduct Racetrack is where Hall of Fame horse Cigar won the first two races in his sixteen-race win streak. Cigar's second win came in the 1994 NYRA Mile, a Grade 1 race that is now named in the horse's honor. Cigar, born April 18, 1990 at Country Life Farm near Bel Air, Maryland, is a Hall of Fame thoroughbred racehorse. ...

Aqueduct is also the site of the first, and presently, the only triple dead heat for win in a stakes race. In the 1944 running of the Carter Handicap, Brownie, Bossuet, and Wait A Bit hit the finish line at the same time.^[1] Dead Heat may refer to: In film and televison Dead Heat a 1926 film, Dead Heat (1988 film), a 1988 film starring Treat Williams, Dead Heat (2002 film), a 2002 film starring Kiefer Sutherland and Anthony LaPaglia. ...

On April 8, 2006, during an eleven-race program at Aqueduct that included the Wood Memorial Stakes, a rare event happened when dead heats for each of the three "money" positions (Win, Place and Show) occurred in three separate races. Saint Anddan and Criminal Mind dead-heated for Place in race 5, Naragansett and Emotrin dead-heated for Show in race 6, and Karakorum Tuxedo and Megatrend dead-heated for Win in race 10.^[2] April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in Jamaica, New York is an American horse race first run in 1925. ...

Physical attributes

The track itself has three courses: The Main Track (dirt) has a circumference of 1 1/8 miles (1811 m); inside of this is the Inner Dirt Track (consisting of a special type of dirt over which races are run during the winter months), which is exactly one mile (1609 m) long; and the innermost course is a turf (grass) course, spanning 7 furlongs plus 43 feet (1421 m). The track has seating capacity of 17,000 but total capacity of 90,000. Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, either in terms of the space available, or in terms of limitations set by law. ...

Racing

The following graded stakes are run at Aqueduct:

• Grade I Carter Handicap
• Grade I Cigar Mile Handicap
• Grade I Wood Memorial Stakes

• Grade II Comely Stakes
• Grade II Demoiselle Stakes
• Grade II Distaff Breeders' Cup Handicap
• Grade II Long Island Handicap
• Grade II Red Smith Handicap
• Grade II Remsen Stakes
• Grade II Top Flight Handicap

• Grade III Aqueduct Handicap
• Grade III Athenia Handicap
• Grade III Bay Shore Stakes
• Grade III Beaugay Handicap
• Grade III Bed O' Roses Breeders' Cup Handicap
• Grade III Busher Stakes
• Grade III The Cicada
• Grade III Excelsior Breeders' Cup Handicap
• Grade III Fort Marcy Handicap
• Grade III Gotham Stakes
• Grade III Gravesend Handicap
• Grade III Knickerbocker Handicap
• Grade III Nashua Stakes
• Grade III Next Move Handicap
• Grade III Queens County Handicap
• Grade III Stuyvesant Handicap
• Grade III Tempted Stakes
• Grade III The Toboggan Handicap
• Grade III Turnback The Alarm Handicap
• Grade III Valley Stream Stakes
• Grade III Withers Stakes
• Grade III Sport Page Breeders' Cup Handicap

Important ungraded races: The Carter Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race three-year-olds and up, run at a distance of 7 furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack. ... The Cigar Mile Handicap is a race for thoroughbred horses at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York. ... The Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in Jamaica, New York is an American horse race first run in 1925. ... The Comely Stakes is a race for Thoroughbred horses open to three year old fillies who are willing to race the mile on the Aqueduct Racetrack dirt track. ... The Demoiselle Stakes is a stakes race for thoroughbred horses open to two-year-old fillies who are willing to race the one and one-eighth miles on dirt. ... The Distaff Breeders Cup Handicap is a race for Thoroughbred race horses held each each spring at Aqueduct Racetrack. ... The Long Island Handicap is a race for Thoroughbred horses held each November at Aqueduct Racetrack. ... The Red Smith Handicap is a turf race for thoroughbred horses open to three-year-olds and up and set at a distance of one and three-eighths miles. ... The Remsen Stakes is a Grade II race for thoroughbred horses. ... The Top Flight Handicap is a race for thoroughbred fillies and mares, age three and up, willing to race the one mile on the dirt. ... The Busher Stakes is a race for thoroughbred horses run early in the year at Aqueduct Racetrack on Long Island, New York. ... The Cicada is a six furlong dash on the dirt for thoroughbred horses run in March at Aqueduct Racetrack on Long Island, New York. ... The Gotham Stakes is a race for three year old thoroughbred horses. ... The Stuyvesant Handicap is a race for Thoroughbred horses held in the fall of the year at Aqueduct Race Track. ... The Toboggan Handicap is a Thoroughbred race run at Aqueduct Race Track each year for three-year-old horses and up. ... The Withers Stakes is a race for thoroughbred horses. ... The Sport Page Breeders Cup Handicap is a race run at Aqueduct Race Track each year for three-year-olds and up. ...

• The Stymie
• Whirlaway Stakes

The Stymie Handicap is an ungraded dirt race for Thoroughbred horses run at Aqueduct Racetrack every year in March, the last month of winter. ... The Whirlaway Stakes is a race for thoroughbred horses held in February at Aqueduct Racetrack. ...

Transportation

The track has its own station—Aqueduct Racetrack station—on the New York City Subway, served by the IND Rockaway Line (A) train. It is only open from 11 am to 7 pm on days when the track is open. However, it is also the system's only single direction station, with a single side platform on the Manhattan-bound side, requiring travelers to double back at Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue station, which is a little over a city block south. NYRA also operates a free shuttle bus between the North Conduit Avenue station and the Clubhouse entrance. Aqueduct Racetrack is a station on the New York City Subways IND Rockaway Line. ... The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as MTA New York City Transit. ... The IND Rockaway Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway. ... The A Eighth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. ... Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue is a subway station on the New York City Subways IND Rockaway Line, served at all times by A trains. ...

Buses on the Q7, Q11, Q37 and B15 routes pass nearby. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates a number of bus routes in Queens, New York, United States. ... The Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates a number of bus routes in Queens, New York, United States. ... The Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates a number of bus routes in Queens, New York, United States. ... The Sumner Avenue Line and New Lots Avenue Line are two public transit lines in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, running mainly along Marcus Garvey Boulevard (formerly Sumner Avenue), 98th Street, and New Lots Avenue between northern Bedford-Stuyvesant and New Lots. ...

Pop Culture

• In Lucky Number Slevin in the beginning of the movie the father and son are at Aqueduct Ractrack.

• There is a scene with Aqueduct Racetrack in the movie A Bronx Tale.

• A scene from A shock to the system was filmed in the old Aqueduct Raceway Station.

Lucky Number Slevin is a 2006 action/mystery film written by Jason Smilovic, directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci and Bruce Willis. ... A Bronx Tale is a 1993 film set in New York City during the turbulent era of the 1960s. ...

See also

• New York Racing Association
• Belmont Park
• Saratoga Race Course

The New York Racing Association is the non-profit governing body for thoroughbred horse-racing in the state of New York. ... Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in the hamlet of Elmont, New York in Nassau County on Long Island (just outside of New York City). ... Saratoga Race Course is a famous horse-racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York. ...

References

1. ^ NYRA: The Carter Handicap, accessed June 25, 2006
2. ^ NYRA: Aqueduct results for Saturday, April 8, 2006, accessed June 25, 2006

June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

External link

• NYRA - Aqueduct Racetrack official site
• Handicapping the races