Thoroughbred racing action moves to Aqueduct Racetrack on Friday, November 1.
Aqueduct offers live racing over the three-day opening weekend, highlighted by Saturday’s 70th running of the Grade 3, $200,000 Discovery Handicap for 3-year-olds and a pair of one-mile juvenile events on Sunday: the Grade 2, $250,000 Nashua and the Grade 3, $250,000 Tempted for fillies. The Discovery is the first of 11 graded stakes at the Big A through the end of 2013, including the Holidayfest highlight of the meet, the Grade 1, $500,000 Cigar Mile Handicap on Saturday, November 30.
Five other graded stakes round out the holiday racing action, which kicks off with the Grade 3, $300,000 Fall Highweight Handicap on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, and continues on Friday with the Grade 2, $300,000 Go for Wand Handicap. Joining the Cigar Mile on Saturday are the Grade 2, $400,000 Remsen for 2-year-olds; the Grade 2, $400,000 Demoiselle for 2-year-old fillies; and the Grade 3, $400,000 Comely for 3-year-old fillies.
Aqueduct 2013 Winter Wagering Highlights
The new 50-cent trifecta will be offered by The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) at Aqueduct beginning Friday, November 1. The bet will be available on all NYRA races that currently offer trifecta wagering.
The 50-cent trifecta is the second new wager offered by NYRA at the Aqueduct meet, joining the 50-cent Pick 5 wager that spans races 1-5. NYRA also offers a 50-cent minimum Pick 4, as well as a 10-cent superfecta, in which the first four finishers of a race must be selected in the correct order.
There will be a $250,000 Guaranteed Late Pick 4 on all Saturdays beginning November 9.
Bet Aqueduct horse racing online with TwinSpires and watch free Aqueduct race replays with TwinSpiresTV!
Aqueduct 2013 Winter Meet Information
Dates: November 1 – December 31
Aqueduct horse racing schedule: Aqueduct Racetrack generally will be open Wednesday through Sunday. The track will be closed on Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25, and will conduct live racing on New Year’s Eve, Tuesday, December
Post times: 12:20 p.m. ET daily with the exceptions on Thanksgiving Day and Friday and Saturday, November 29 and 30. Post time on Thanksgiving Day is 11:25 a.m. ET, with the first race going off at noon on Friday and Saturday, November 29 and 30.
Aqueduct Racetrack Information
Main track (dirt): 1 1/8 mile oval
Inner dirt track: 1 mile oval
Turf: 7/8 mile 43 feet, oval
About Aqueduct Racetrack:
Aqueduct Racetrack, also known as the Big A, is located in the neighborhood of Ozone Park in Queens, New York. Aqueduct, operated by the Queens County Jockey Club, opened on September 27, 1894 for thoroughbred horse racing. It is the only racetrack located within New York City limits.
The track itself has three courses. The Main Track, which is dirt, has a circumference of 1 1/8 miles; inside of this circuit is the one-mile Inner Dirt Track, consisting of a special type of dirt over which races are run during the winter; and the innermost course is a Turf (grass) course, spanning 7 furlongs plus 43 feet.
In 1941, a new clubhouse and track offices were built. In 1956, the track was torn down and after remodeling Aqueduct was re-opened in 1959. In 1975, the grass was uprooted and the Inner Dirt Track took its place as the permit circuit for year-round racing. From 1959-71, the track was idle from shortly before Christmas to March, until off-track betting began in New York City. In the fall of 2005, construction began on the Aqueduct grandstand, and resulted in the installation of a 4,500 video lottery terminal casino.
Aqueduct Racetrack has an impressive 17,000-person seating capacity, with a total capacity of 40,000. A courtesy shuttle bus service is available from all general areas of the parking lot that holds up to 8,000 cars. This track offers several amenities from a 1,200-seat fine-dining restaurant – where the recommended dress attire is elegant – to a children’s playroom.
Past Aqueduct Meet Information