SOUTH OZONE PARK — Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, held its final day of thoroughbred racing on Sunday, concluding 132 years of operation. The facility was the last thoroughbred racetrack within New York City limits.

The New York Racing Association is consolidating its downstate racing activities at Belmont Park. Belmont Park, located in Elmont, Long Island, is scheduled to reopen in September following a $455 million redevelopment project.

Former jockey Richard Migliore, Aqueduct's all-time leading rider with 2,238 victories over a 31-year career, described the venue as "New York City's racetrack." He said, "At Aqueduct, you get the real fans. They're hardcore. They know the game." Migliore also noted, "There's a grittiness to Aqueduct that you don't get at Belmont, certainly don't get at Saratoga."

The final day of racing saw 6,866 in attendance, with the first post time at 1:10 p.m. Retired track announcer Tom Durkin returned to call the final race. In the second race, an $80,000 New York-bred maiden special weight, Manuel Franco rode Close the Loop to win.

Aqueduct Racetrack opened on September 27, 1894, built on 23 acres of former farmland. Approximately 700 spectators and eight bookmakers attended the opening. The original grandstand could seat about 2,000 spectators. The racetrack was named after an aqueduct that crossed the property, which carried water from Long Island to Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Secretariat made his racing debut at Aqueduct on July 4. For five years during the 1960s, Aqueduct hosted the Belmont Stakes while Belmont Park underwent reconstruction. In 1985, the track hosted the Breeders' Cup. In 1995, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass at the track before an estimated crowd of 75,000. In 1944, Brownie, Bossuet, and Wait A Bit finished in a triple dead heat in the Carter Handicap. After Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the track's parking lots served as a Red Cross staging area for relief efforts, and parts of the facility sheltered displaced New Yorkers from South Brooklyn and Queens. During the pandemic, more than 300,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine were administered at Aqueduct Racetrack.