NYRA Photo

2022 Aqueduct fall meet to feature 33 stakes worth $6.375 million

by Pat McKenna

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the stakes schedule for the 2022 fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, which will offer 33 stakes, 10 of them graded events, worth a total of $6.375 million.

As previously announced, the Belmont Park fall meet will be held at Aqueduct due to the construction of vehicular and pedestrian tunnels designed to provide access to the Belmont Park infield. The Belmont at the Big A meet will begin on Thursday, September 15 and continue through Sunday, October 30.

Following the conclusion of Belmont at the Big A., the 29-day Aqueduct fall meet will run from Friday, November 4 through Saturday, December 31.

The Aqueduct fall meet is highlighted by the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap on Saturday, December 3. The lucrative Cigar Mile Day card will include the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen for juveniles going nine furlongs and its filly counterpart race, the Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle at the same distance. Rounding out the card is the Grade 3, $200,000 Go for Wand Handicap for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up traveling one-mile.

The stakes action begins on Opening Day, November 4, with the Grade 3, $150,000 Turnback the Alarm Handicap, a nine-furlong main track test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up. The stakes continue into the weekend with a pair of $120,000 juvenile turf sprints [Atlantic Beach and Stewart Manor for fillies] on Saturday, November 5, and a pair of $150,000 one-mile dirt routes for juveniles [Grade 3 Nashua and Tempted for fillies] on Sunday, November 6.

The following two weekends see a quartet of $135,000 turf stakes with the Artie Schiller for 3-year-olds and up on Saturday, November 12; the Winter Memories for sophomore fillies on Sunday, November 13; the Gio Ponti for sophomores on Saturday, November 19; and the Forever Together for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up on Sunday, November 20. The November 20 card will also feature two $100,000 six-furlong sprints for New York-bred juveniles with the Key Cents for fillies and the Notebook.

Graded action continues at the Big A on Friday, November 25 with a strong card, led by the Grade 3, $300,000 Long Island for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up traveling 1 3/8 miles on the turf. The day will also include the Grade 3, $175,000 Comely for sophomore fillies going nine furlongs and the $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship for sophomores and older sprinting six furlongs over the lawn.

Saturday, November 26 offers an additional pair of graded events with the Grade 2, $300,000 Red Smith at 11 furlongs on turf for 3-and-up and the Grade 3, $175,000 Fall Highweight Handicap at six furlongs for 3-and-up, along with the $120,000 Central Park for juveniles. The weekend closes out with three stakes on Sunday, November 27 with the six-furlong $150,000 Autumn Days on turf for fillies and mares 3-and-up, the nine-furlong $150,000 Discovery for sophomores over the main track, and the $120,000 Tepin at one-mile for juvenile fillies to close out turf stakes action for the year at NYRA.

The popular New York Stallion Stakes Series (NYSSS), open to progeny of eligible New York sires, returns to the Big A with four divisions offered this December. Sunday, December 4 will feature the $125,000 NYSSS Thunder Rumble for 3-year-olds and up sprinting seven furlongs on the main track, as well as the $125,000 NYSSS Staten Island for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at the same distance.

Saturday, December 10 will feature the $120,000 Garland of Roses for fillies and mares before the NYSSS returns on a stacked card slated for Saturday, December 17. The day will feature four stakes for New York-bred and New York-sired horses, anchored by two $500,000 seven-furlong sprints for juveniles in the NYSSS Great White Way and the NYSSS Fifth Avenue for fillies. Rounding out the card are two $100,000 one-mile events for New York-bred sophomores with the Alex M. Robb and the Bay Ridge for fillies.

After a 10-day holiday break from December 19 to December 28, the stakes schedule concludes with the $135,000 Gravesend for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs on Friday, December 30; and the $150,000 Queens County for 3-year-olds and up traveling nine furlongs on Saturday, December 31.

For the complete Aqueduct fall schedule, visit this link.