On Sunday afternoon, June 28, 2026, at about 5:50 p.m. ET, the thundering sound of hooves striking the ground at Aqueduct Racetrack will forever go silent.
After 132 years of serving New York racing fans, the ninth race Sunday will be the last one ever contested at the Big A as a transformation of downstate racing begins. Aqueduct joins the likes of the now-forgotten Jamaica Race Course and Brighton Beach as a past home of the sport in the bustling metropolis.
Following her recent 12 3/4-length win in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes Presented by Ford, Nitrogen will set her sights on a highly anticipated showdown against males in the Aug. 8 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
Laurel Park hosts one of Maryland’s best race days of year Saturday, June 27, highlighted by the track’s premier summer sprint race, the $175,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes. The De Francis Dash going six furlongs on the main track headlines an 11-race card featuring four stakes races at Laurel that also includes the $125,000 Japan Racing Association Turf Cup, the $125,000 Deputed Testamony Stakes, and the $125,000 Alma North Stakes.
