Aqueduct ends dark-day signals

NEW YORK - Citing poor business, New York Racing Association officials said on Thursday that Aqueduct would end dark-day simulcasting on Mondays beginning Feb. 4.

Barry Schwartz, chairman of NYRA, said the association could no longer justify the expense of keeping Aqueduct open when handle on two major Monday signals, Gulfstream and Fair Grounds, was failing to live up to expectations.

"The quality of racing has been so poor at Gulfstream that we're just not doing the same numbers," Schwartz said.

Bill Nader, a NYRA vice president, said handle on Mondays has dropped 29 percent from last year, from $230,414 to $163,711. He said the most dramatic fall-off has been on the Gulfstream product, which has suffered from short fields and canceled races this year.