PHOTO ESSAY: Aqueduct Race Track closes after ‘A Good Run’ of over 130 years
Jun 30, 2026, 12:40 PM
Jockeys ride their horses after a race at Aqueduct Racetrack on closing day in the Queens borough of New York, Sunday, June 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Credit: AP Photo/Andres Kudacki
(AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
NEW YORK (AP) — Aqueduct Race Track ran its final races Sunday as the venerable New York City horse racing facility prepares to close its doors after more than 130 years in business.
The goodbye to “the Big A” included a long line of patrons, a cake commemorating the occasion and a final race aptly named, “It Was a Good Run.”
Aqueduct is closing as part of a consolidation of New York racing at Belmont Park, just outside the city limits on Long Island, and Saratoga Race Course upstate. It will remain open for simulcasting until September, when Belmont reopens following a half-billion-dollar reconstruction project.
The final day of racing at the Queens track was a bittersweet mix of sadness over the track’s closure and a celebration of the sport’s history and roots, including jockeys greeting the festive crowd after riding there for the last time.
This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.
