A new chapter in the 113-year history of Aqueduct Race Track begins this week, but the Sport of Kings will likely remain at the Queens venue, the Daily News has learned.
On Tuesday, Gov. Spitzer is slated to endorse one of four competing bids for the state's racing franchise, which includes Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.
Though Spitzer has publicly refused to rule out the closing of Aqueduct, sources told the Daily News that Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver have both indicated that Aqueduct's racing track will remain open.
All four bidders - Empire Racing Associates, Excelsior Racing Associates, Capital Play and the current holder, the New York Racing Association - have proposed major changes to Aqueduct's 192-acre site.
The proposals call for hotels, a video lottery terminal casino, concert stages and nightclubs, in addition to overhauling the dilapidated race track.
If the deal is approved by the state Legislature, the new franchisee will take over on Jan. 1.
Community members and local politicians, however, say the state has kept them out of the decision-making process.
"The zoning at Aqueduct is for anything and everything a residential community would oppose," said Betty Braton, chairwoman of Community Board 10 in Queens. "Nobody from the state is talking to us."
Aqueduct is zoned C8-1 - a designation that "is a nightmare for NIMBY [Not in My Backyard] people," said Braton, because it can be used for nearly any commercial purpose.
Spitzer, who reportedly accepted more than $632,000 in campaign contributions from the bidders, wants more than just racing at Aqueduct - the only track in the city.
"Whether or not you have racing at Aqueduct, you have an enormous piece of land there that can and should be used for some other things," Spitzer told The News' editorial board in June. "That's a remarkably valuable piece of land from a public perspective."
Plans to introduce video lottery terminals have stumbled several times at Aqueduct.
The terminals have been introduced at Yonkers and Monticello Raceways and Philadelphia Park to much fanfare, boosting attendance figures and revenue.
But turning Aqueduct into a casino without table games has never come to fruition.
"I know that developers are drooling over Aqueduct," said Councilman Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach). "My residents have to live with whatever is built there. This is a major problem that will have a ripple effect for years to come."
Aqueduct was built in 1895 on the site of an old water-pumping plant. The track was torn down in 1956 and reopened in 1959 after a $30 million renovation.
In its heyday, track attendance averaged more than 25,000 people a day. Now Aqueduct draws fewer than 3,000 a day, and is only open from October to April.
The New York Racing Association, which has controlled the franchise since 1955, claims ownership of Aqueduct's property. The state disputes the bankrupt company's claim, and the matter is now before the courts.
