Live thoroughbred racing action returns to Aqueduct on November 4

by Heather Pettinger

The 2016 fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack will hit the ground running when live racing moves to the Big A on Friday with an opening weekend highlighted by a trio of graded stakes as well as the simulcast of the Breeders' Cup World Championships from Santa Anita Park.

Racing fans can watch and wager on the Breeders' Cup on Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5, while the Aqueduct stakes action kicks off with the 42nd running of the Grade 2, $200,000 Nashua for 2-year-olds at a mile on opening day, the first of 11 graded stakes in the Aqueduct fall meet. Gates open at 11 a.m. with a first-race post time at 12:20 p.m.

Live racing continues on Saturday, featuring the Nashua's filly counterpart, the Grade 3, $200,000 Tempted, combined with full simulcast coverage of the Breeders' Cup in Southern California, highlighted by the $6 million Classic, with a locally scheduled post of 8:35 ET. 

In celebration of the Breeders' Cup, NYRA Bets is offering an exclusive $300 "Bet & Get" sign-up bonus for all new sign ups between October 24 and November 6. 

Both new and existing customers will be able to take advantage of a slew of special offers on Breeders' Cup weekend, including a 10% Reload Bonus for deposits made on Wednesday, November 2; a $10 first-post bonus for win wagers of $25 or more on any horse in the first Breeders' Cup of the weekend, the $1 million Juvenile Turf on Friday; a 13-million Point Giveaway; and a 10% Breeders' Cup Pick 4 Winner's Bonus for NYRA Bets players with a winning wager on the $3 million-guaranteed Late Pick 4 on Saturday at Santa Anita. 

For further details and information, please visit NYRABets.com.

Opening weekend will draw to a close on Sunday, featuring the Grade 3, $200,000 Long Island for fillies and mares at 1 ½ miles on the turf.

The centerpiece of the 37-day meet, which runs from November 4 through December 31, is the Grade 1, $500,000 Cigar Mile Handicap on Saturday, November 26, supported by the Grade 2, $300,000 Remsen for 2-year-olds, the first stop through Aqueduct on the "Road to the Kentucky Derby," as well as its sister race, the Grade 2, $300,000 Demoiselle and the Grade 3, $250,000 Comely for 3-year-old fillies. 

The same bonuses offered for the last three runnings of the Cigar Mile, for 3-year-olds and up, will remain intact - the purse jumps to $750,000 with the start of a Grade 1 winner and to $1 million for a Breeders' Cup winner.

As the traditional Thanksgiving Day feature, the Grade 3, $200,000 Fall Highweight Handicap for sprinters 3-and-up will get the holiday week's racing action underway on Thursday, November 24. The Fall Highweight will be joined by the inaugural running of the $125,000 Gio Ponti for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on the turf and the $100,000 Furlough for 2-year-old filly sprinters.

Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Cigar Mile Day will feature a special post time of 11:50 a.m. Gates will open at 10 a.m.

The Gio Ponti's matching race for fillies, the $125,000 Winter Memories, will be held alongside the $100,000 King's Swan for juvenile sprinters as the "Black Friday" co-features on November 25.

Following its success at Saratoga Race Course and during the Belmont fall meet, the NYRA Bets Late Pick 5 will continue through the Aqueduct fall meet on all days when there are 10 or more thoroughbred races. The popular multi-race wager will cover the last five races of each 10-race card and feature the same 15 percent takeout rate and $0.50 bet minimum as the existing early Pick 5, as well as a mandatory payout each time the wager is offered during the Big A's fall meet.

Aqueduct Racetrack will generally be open Wednesday through Sunday with first post scheduled at 12:20 p.m. The Big A will be closed for live racing from Monday, December 19 through Wednesday, December 28. Racing will resume on Thursday, December 29.