Aqueduct Racetrack closed: the last race, the site's future and where to bet now

Aqueduct’s last race: June 28, 2026, after 132 years

Aqueduct opened on Sept. 27, 1894, in Ozone Park, Queens. Its last live race was run on Sunday, June 28, 2026. NYRA’s final card, “It Was a Good Run,” went off at 5:44 p.m., and retired track announcer Tom Durkin came back to call a race.

Simulcast betting carried on through Labor Day, Sept. 7. Eleven days later, NYRA opened the new Belmont Park.

The closure was the price of the new Belmont Park. As a condition of state funding for the $550 million Belmont rebuild, NYRA had to hand Aqueduct’s land back to the state. “We couldn’t have gotten the money to rebuild Belmont and continue to race at Aqueduct,” TV analyst Andy Serling told the AP.

The final season in Ozone Park: three meets, then farewell

NYRA’s final Aqueduct calendar ran in three parts:

• Winter meet: Jan. 1–March 30, 45 race days
• Spring meet: April 2–26, 15 race days
• Belmont at the Big A: April 30–June 28, 33 race days, with farewell events on the final weekend

The Big A saw Secretariat’s debut in 1972, Cigar’s winning streak and a 1995 Mass by Pope John Paul II for about 75,000 people. The main dirt track was about 1⅛ miles around.

After Aqueduct: NYRA racing moves to Belmont Park and Saratoga

Downstate racing moved about 9 miles east to the rebuilt Belmont Park, which reopened Sept. 18, 2026. Belmont now hosts the fall and winter meets that used to run at Aqueduct, and the Belmont Stakes returns there on June 5, 2027.

New York thoroughbred racing now runs on two NYRA tracks, Belmont and Saratoga Race Course, plus Finger Lakes upstate.

What happens to the Aqueduct site?

Gov. Kathy Hochul started the planning process on May 5, 2026. Empire State Development leads the project on about 100 acres of state-owned land, according to 6sqft. Public workshops are asking residents to rank housing, open space and retail. The plan falls under Executive Order 30, which pushes underused state sites toward affordable housing.

The timeline:

• Early 2027: Aqueduct Master Plan due
• After that: environmental review and public approvals
• Then: a request for proposals from developers

No demolition date has been announced.

Resorts World NYC next to Aqueduct: New York City’s first full casino

The casino on the Aqueduct grounds didn’t close. Resorts World New York City has run slots and electronic table games here since 2011. On Dec. 15, 2025, it won one of three downstate commercial casino licenses from the NY State Gaming Commission.

Live dealer tables arrived in late April 2026, making it the first full casino in New York City. ABC7 reported more than 240 table games and more than 2,500 slot machines by July. On July 22, 2026, Genting broke ground on a 400-room hotel tower and a concert arena. The full plan, reported at $5.5 billion, adds a 2,000-room hotel and 12 acres of green space on a 72-acre site, with build-out targeted for 2031.

Full details are in our Resorts World NYC guide.

Riding the A train to the old Aqueduct grounds

Take the A train (Far Rockaway branch only) to Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue, the stop NYRA pointed racegoers to. The site also has its own Aqueduct Racetrack station, with a platform on the Brooklyn-bound side only. By car, the complex sits on Rockaway Boulevard next to JFK Airport.

Betting NYRA races online after Aqueduct’s closing

You can’t bet at Aqueduct anymore, but you can bet every NYRA race from your phone through a licensed ADW. NYRA’s own app is the NYRA Bets review; TVG, TwinSpires, DK Horse and Xpressbet also take New York customers. Our online horse betting guide compares them.

Aqueduct Racetrack FAQ