Farewell to live racing at Aqueduct: fan turnout strong on final day

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Jeff O’Connor said the first time he cashed a bet on a horse race was at Off-Track Betting in upstate New York and the race he bet on was at Aqueduct. That was 36 years ago.

So, when he learned that Aqueduct would hold its final day of racing on Sunday, he felt the need to travel down from Syracuse, N.Y., to attend.

“This was my mecca,” O’Connor, 57, said. “I had to be here.”

“When he heard they were closing he said ‘we have to come see this,’ ” said Jeff’s wife, Shanna O’Connor.

The O’Connors drove down from Syracuse on Saturday night and were among the first in line Sunday, getting here around 9:45 a.m., an hour before the doors opened to the public. The line to get in on closing day started in front of the building and wrapped around and beyond the clubhouse entrance. That was something not seen here since, well, it’s hard to remember that far back. The New York Racing Association charged $5 to get in Sunday, with the idea of constraining the crowd. The final attendance was 6,866, though it often sounded and felt like more.

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“I wanted to figure out how many people we can fit in this place and I think we’re finding out right now,” said David O'Rourke, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Racing Association. “This is fun. Aqueduct is getting some of the energy it deserves. Today is a good way to go out.”

O’Rourke said he was heartened by the crowd, especially with what appeared to be a large number of young fans. He’s hoping that’s a trend that continues when racing downstate re-opens at Belmont Park in September. The closure of Aqueduct goes hand in hand with a rebuilt Belmont Park that features a new grandstand and three totally renovated racing surfaces and the construction of a Tapeta track, which will be the winter racing surface.

“The weather worked out, the racing’s good, the crowd’s having fun,” O’Rourke said. “There’s a lot of young folks here, it’s like some people bringing back memories and bringing the kids out which leans a little bit into our whole philosophy and plan, but it’s a fun day.

“I’ve been here for 18 years,” O’Rourke added. “In my career, I never spent more time anywhere except at Aqueduct, so there is a bittersweet part to it.”

While the O’Connors were first- and last-time visitors to Aqueduct, Cheddie David and Charlton Hing have been Big A regulars for many years. Once they got inside the building, they headed to their usual spots in corrals A-40 and A-38 in Longshots, the simulcast facility on the third floor designed for the more serious horseplayers.

David, a 72-year-old from Ozone Park, said he’s been coming to Aqueduct three to four times a week for 20 years.

“I’ve been playing horses for 50 years,” David said. "I’m going to really miss this place a lot. I love this place.”

Hing is an owner who on Saturday finished first and fourth with Sin Nombre and Neuschwanstein in a race at Aqueduct.

“The history that happened here is incredible,” Hing said.

Tom Durkin, NYRA’s announcer from 1990-2014, called a lot of that history. Durkin, retired for more than a decade, was brought back to call Sunday’s 2nd race, won by heavily favored Close the Loop.

"This is about the fifth last race I ever called,” said Durkin, who also took photos with fans later in the day. “A little shaky. They asked me which race I wanted to call and I said just give me the one with the shortest field. You still get a little nervous, I gotta tell you. It's still not stress-free, but it was kind of cool listening to the crowd.”

Jockey Kendrick Carmouche has been a favorite among the Aqueduct faithful for many years. Perhaps it was only appropriate he won the first race on the card, aboard Tiznow Mama for trainer Chad Summers.

Carmouche pointed to the crowd as he came to the wire 2 1/2 lengths in front. Galloping back, he blew kisses to the crowd, which was standing room only in the limited seating area and was nearly full on the apron.

Carmouche, who won more than 1,000 races at Aqueduct, won his 4,000th race here on Wood Memorial Day 2025 and jumped into the crowd to celebrate.

Speaking about the crowd, Carmouche said, “It just makes me want to compete more when I hear these guys and they beat me up sometimes. But it doesn’t matter because when they do beat you up, maybe you need to realize it a little bit where you could do a little better … it’s not that they’re being that mean.

“The crowd, I love it man,” Carmouche added. “I hope they follow us to Belmont.”

As Sunday’s nine-race card went along under warm, but relatively comfortable, conditions, fans on the apron and in seats unoccupied for years cheered with each post parade and result.

In race 9, those who remained - and it was many - roared loudly during the post parade, as the field left the starting gate and again when Assume Nothing, trained by Jamie Ness, hit the wire in front under Jaime Rodriguez.

After the race, Carmouche, Rodriguez and a few other jockeys joined the fans on the rail for celebratory and conciliatory hugs and high fives.

“It’s amazing winning the last race on the last day,” Rodriguez said. “It’s going to be a memory I’m never going to forget with the pole here and the love.”

One woman in the crowd held a sign that read “One More Day. Give Me a Chance to Win It Back.”

Well, live racing may be done at Aqueduct. But first post Friday at Saratoga is 1:10 p.m. And Aqueduct will be open for simulcasting through Sept. 7.

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