And it’s Barrier Reef by a nose in the 29th running of The Whirlaway Stakes earlier this month. Jockey Alan Garcia rode the three-year-old to victory in a time of 1:44.47.
Major changes are on the horizon for Aqueduct Racetrack.
The winter racing schedule at Aqueduct may come to an abrupt end this week — unless the state gets involved to resolve long-standing disagreements over franchise rights at the Queens race track, Belmont in Nassau County and Saratoga in upstate New York.
Gov. Eliot Spitzer and state legislators are reportedly working to negotiate an agreement that would allow the New York Racing Association to extend its franchise for another 25 years.
The original Aqueduct racetrack opened in September 1894, in the neighborhood now known as South Ozone Park. In 1941, a new clubhouse and track offices were built. The track was razed in 1956 and a new "Big A" opened in 1959. In 1975, an inner track was built to accommodate winter racing. The NYRA has held the franchise since 1955, but it expired on Dec. 31.
The state gave the association a temporary extension until Feb. 13, and now a deal must be struck or Aqueduct's 1,300 employees are in danger of being laid off on Valentine's Day.
If the talks aren't successful, 2,300 horses stabled at both Aqueduct and Belmont Raceway on the Queens-Nassau border will be forced off the properties by Feb. 27, as well as 1,000 people who live in dormitories on the backstretch and tend to the animals.
Plans to introduce video lottery terminals, a type of slot machine, have so far been unsuccessful at Aqueduct, but a resolution to the franchise agreement could pave the way for higher attendance figures and more development at the 192-acre track.
Total attendance for the 84 dates of the 2006 racing season at Aqueduct — the latest year for which figures are available — was 248,110.
"Once they finally get the franchise deal settled for the next 25 or 30 years, we'll probably see the start of a casino at Aqueduct," said Daily News horse analyst Jerry Bossert.
"Aqueduct is the nuts and bolts of racing."
