Aqueduct to close backstretch during Saratoga

ELMONT, N.Y. – As it did last year, the Aqueduct backstretch will be shut down during the Saratoga meet and horses stabled there will be moved to either Belmont Park or Saratoga, New York Racing Association officials announced last week.

The backside is expected to close about July 23 and reopen about Labor Day, Sept. 7, according to Martin Panza, NYRA’s director of racing operations.

Initially, NYRA management had wanted to shut the backstretch down for five months following the conclusion of Aqueduct’s spring meet in early May, but decided to keep it open during the Belmont meet.