End of an Era: Aqueduct Racetrack Sets Final Race Day After 132 Years

• Final day of live racing set for June 28, 2026
• Historic New York racetrack closing after 132-year run
• Belmont Park redevelopment drives shift away from Aqueduct racing

Aqueduct Racetrack, one of New York City’s last links to old-school thoroughbred racing, now has a date with the finish line.

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has confirmed that Aqueduct’s final day of live racing will be Sunday, June 28, 2026, ending a 132-year run for the Ozone Park, Queens track known to generations of racing fans as “the Big A.”

NYRA said live racing will cease after the June 28 program, although the facility will stay open for simulcasting through Labor Day, September 7.

Big A’s Last Hurrah

The closure is part of a long-planned effort to consolidate downstate racing at Belmont Park on Long Island, which is undergoing a $455 million upgrade that will allow it to operate all year around. Once completed, racing that currently takes place at Aqueduct during the colder months will move permanently to Belmont.

NYRA says Belmont Park is scheduled to reopen Friday, September 18, 2026, with a new five-story grandstand and upgraded fan amenities.

Named for the Ridgewood Aqueduct, a 12-mile-long masonry conduit that had once carried water from Long Island to Brooklyn and crossed the property, the Aqueduct Racetrack opened in Queens on Sept. 27, 1894, making it one of the oldest surviving horse-racing venues in the United States.

It has hosted generations of racing greats, including Man o’ War, Secretariat, Cigar, and Easy Goer.

The track was completely rebuilt between 1955 and 1959 and temporarily hosted the Belmont Stakes from 1963-67 while Belmont Park underwent renovation. Beyond racing, Aqueduct served as a mass vaccination center during the COVID-19 pandemic and even hosted a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1995 that drew 75,000 people.

While NYRA has run racing at Aqueduct for decades, the property itself has been owned by New York State since the association’s 2008 bankruptcy restructuring.

Eclipsed by Nearby Casino

In 2010, Malaysian gaming giant Genting won the right to develop a casino at the racetrack after years of failed bidding processes and political wrangling.

The company opened Resorts World New York City in October 2011 as a “racino” featuring video lottery terminals and electronic table games. The facility quickly became one of the highest-grossing gaming venues in the US and generated billions of dollars for New York State, even as the racetrack itself faced an uncertain long-term future.

The track’s final weekend, June 27 and 28, will be a ticketed farewell event, according to NYRA. The association said it expects strong attendance and is imposing capacity limits. Tickets are priced at $5 and include a commemorative program, with proceeds benefiting the NYRA Foundation.