Since its humble beginnings on the periphery of American thoroughbred racing, Aqueduct Racetrack has endured through the various highs and lows of the sport in New York City. Once considered an unsanctioned venue, “the Big A” has welcomed champions of the Triple Crown, witnessed epic contests, and even hosted a global figure. As we anticipate bidding farewell to this iconic Gotham sports venue later this year, let us trace the development of this track from a raw prospect into a luminous jewel.
A Precarious Commencement
“Initially, it was merely a six-furlong course when it opened,” the veteran trainer recalled. “And The Jockey Club withheld its official recognition until it was extended to a mile. Its appearance was akin to a makeshift shack on stilts, and instead of grass, it featured a kind of wooden walkway.”
James E. “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons, the esteemed Hall of Fame trainer responsible for two Triple Crown victors and numerous other equine stars, was among the assembly of “around 700” attendees on September 27, 1894, the inaugural day at Aqueduct, a nascent racetrack constructed on 23 acres leased by the Queens County Jockey Club from farmer Nicholas Ryder, who continued to cultivate crops in the infield during the track’s early operation. It received its name from its proximity to the conduit that transported water from Hempstead Plain to the city’s Ridgewood Reservoir. Its founders—Thomas J. Reilly, the offspring of a horse dealer and local politician; Francis J. Reilly, a Bronx deputy fire chief; and Robert A. Tucker, a Brooklyn businessman who knew the celebrated Dwyer brothers in his youth—invested $50,000 to leverage the city’s rapid development and establish their own racing facility. Their rudimentary grandstand could accommodate approximately 2,000 spectators; those standing on the turf in front stood on wooden planks to avoid sinking into the mud, and the infield was punctuated with rows of ongoing agricultural cultivation.
The burgeoning track faced rivalry from New York’s proliferating number of racetracks, with five others also operating concurrently, and its lack of endorsement from The Jockey Club presented a challenge. Given its racing oval was only six furlongs, The Jockey Club would not integrate Aqueduct into its authorized roster until the track surface measured a mile or more. Consequently, the proprietors of the track secured additional land and redesigned the course to meet The Jockey Club’s stipulations. Despite its initial difficulties, the fledgling track persevered, gaining prominence over the ensuing decade, so much so that several members of The Jockey Club, including Philip Dwyer, whose renowned stable had clinched two Kentucky Derbys and five Belmont Stakes, acquired Aqueduct following Thomas Reilly’s demise in 1904.
Under Dwyer’s direction, the Queens County Jockey Club procured more land, reconstructed the grandstand, and extended the racing surface to 10 furlongs, featuring a 1,520-foot straightaway, among the longest nationwide. Racing prospered in the New York region, even amidst the escalating influence of the anti-gambling movement. However, when Gov. Charles Evans Hughes enacted a series of anti-gambling statutes, racing in the state ceased for nearly two years. Upon the sport’s return to the Empire State, many of the racetracks that had been scattered across the New York City area remained closed. Nevertheless, Aqueduct endured, incorporating several stakes races from Gravesend’s schedule, including the Tremont Stakes for 2-year-olds, the Brooklyn Handicap, and the Brooklyn Derby, which was later rebranded the Dwyer Stakes in homage to the brothers who had played such a crucial role in the early years of the racing scene.
Unforgettable Occasions
Once horse racing recommenced at the Ozone Park venue, Aqueduct became the stage for a multitude of legendary displays, its schedule of stakes races forming an indispensable component of the sport’s annual calendar. Man o’ War encountered John P. Grier in the 1920 Dwyer Stakes, and across nine furlongs, the two competitors fiercely contended, stride for stride, establishing new records at each marker. As they neared the concluding furlong, jockey Clarence Kummer urged Man o’ War with his whip, and finally, the legendary equine hero surged past his exhausted competitor, securing an advantage of 1 ½ lengths. This engagement would represent Big Red’s most formidable challenge among his 20 career triumphs.
In 1944, the Carter Handicap, named for William Carter, the tugboat captain who had furnished the prize money and trophy for its inaugural running in 1895, witnessed an unprecedented triple dead heat as Brownie, Bossuet, and Wait a Bit crossed the finish line simultaneously, with the celebrated photo-finish image immortalizing the unlikely outcome. In that same decade, John Cowdin, serving as president of the Queens County Jockey Club, spearheaded refurbishments to the urban racetrack and reduced the oval’s length from 10 furlongs to a mile. As the sport continued to spread across the country, New York experienced a period of stagnation, which prompted a revitalization initiative under the newly established New York Racing Association. In 1959, the new Aqueduct opened its gates to an attendance of 42,473, a stark contrast to the gathering of merely hundreds present on the track’s opening day nearly 65 years prior.
When Belmont Park underwent its own refurbishment from 1963 to 1968, Aqueduct, affectionately known as “the Big A,” served as the venue for the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown attempts by Northern Dancer and Kauai King—both ultimately unsuccessful—as well as a commanding victory by Damascus in the 1967 Belmont. The latter, owned by Edith Woodward Bancroft, daughter of William Woodward, raced in the white with red polka dots of Belair Stud, whose champions such as Gallant Fox and Omaha had been conditioned by “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons. “The Big A” had served as the trainer’s primary base for a significant portion of his seven-decade career.
A Poignant Farewell
Throughout the subsequent decades, Aqueduct has been the site of the second running of the Breeders’ Cup (1985), a Papal Mass (1995), and triumphs by many of the sport’s most recognized figures, from horses like Kelso, Dr. Fager, Cigar, and Seattle Slew; jockeys such as Angel Cordero Jr., Steve Cauthen, and Jerry Bailey; and trainers Max Hirsch, Hirsch Jacobs, and Allen Jerkens. As the financial dynamics of racing have transformed over these past twenty years, sustaining two racetracks in the New York area has become more challenging, thereby necessitating a new chapter and a final good-bye to “the Big A.”
In 2026, the New York Racing Association will welcome the newly rebuilt Belmont Park and bid farewell to Aqueduct, concluding over a century of racing in Ozone Park. This occasion represents a momentous transition, upholding New York’s legacy as a premier destination for the finest in racing, while simultaneously embracing a fresh outlook for the sport in its American genesis.
