Aqueduct cancels through weekend, reschedules stakes

The Jerome Stakes for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct, originally carded for Jan. 1, has been rescheduled for Jan. 13 as the New York Racing Association on Thursday finalized new dates for six stakes races impacted by weather-related cancellations.

Due to harsh winter weather conditions, racing at Aqueduct is canceled through the weekend with the next scheduled racing date Jan. 11.

Entries for the Jerome, which offers qualifying points to the May 5 Kentucky Derby, will be taken on Jan. 10. The race is open to original nominees but horses may also be supplemented to the race for $1,500. The Jerome, run at a one-turn mile, drew a field of eight led by Grade 1 winner Firenze Fire when originally drawn on Dec. 29.

The Jan. 1 card was one of seven full cards at Aqueduct canceled due to weather since Dec. 28. The NYRA canceled racing Thursday due to a snowstorm that was forecast to bring 5 to 8 inches of snow to the New York City area and up to a foot of snow on Long Island. The majority of horses that race at Aqueduct are based at Belmont Park on Long Island.

The forecast for Friday through Sunday called for bitterly cold temperatures with wind chills below zero. Those same conditions prompted the cancellation of cards scheduled on Dec. 28, Dec. 31, and Jan. 1.

NYRA officials canceled training at both Aqueduct and Belmont Thursday through Saturday. A decision on when training will resume will be made on Saturday.

Five stakes restricted to New York-breds that were lost to cancellations, each worth $100,000, have also been rescheduled.

The Bay Ridge, which was carded for Jan. 1 after failing to fill for Dec. 29, is now rescheduled for Jan. 11.

The inaugural running of the La Verdad, scheduled for Saturday, is rescheduled for Jan. 12. The East View, carded for Dec. 28, will be run on Jan. 14 as will the Alex M. Robb, which had been carded for Dec. 31. Finally, the Damon Runyon, lost when the final five races on the Dec. 30 card were canceled after the jockeys refused to ride, is rescheduled for Jan. 15, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday program.