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NYRA announces Aqueduct Racetrack 2019 race dates

by NYRA Press Office

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) today announced the remaining race dates for Aqueduct Racetrack through the end of the spring meet on April 20, 2019.

The Aqueduct winter meet, which runs until March 31, 2019, kicked off on Friday, December 7 with Saturday's $100,000 Garland of Roses, won by Vertical Oak, as the first of 52 stakes worth more than $7.3 million in purses on offer at the Aqueduct winter and spring meets. The spring meet will get underway on April 5, 2019.

January will feature 17 live race dates contested mainly Thursday through Sunday with the exception of New Year's Day, a Tuesday card highlighted by the $150,000 Jerome for freshly minted 3-year-olds, as part of New York's road to the Kentucky Derby; and the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday card slated for Monday, January 21 which features the $100,000 Interborough for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up. There will be no live racing on Thursday, January 3 and Thursday, January 17 to accommodate the special holiday cards.

There will be 16 live racing dates in February with 8 eight stakes races including the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers, while maintaining a Thursday through Sunday live racing schedule with the exception of President's Day, Monday, February 18, which will be highlighted by the 40th running of the $100,000 Hollie Hughes. There will be no live racing on Thursday, February 14 to accommodate the Presidents' Day card.

A total of 15 racing cards are set for March, which will see live racing conducted Friday through Sunday, including a pair of graded stakes on Saturday, March 9 featuring the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham for 3-year-olds going a mile and the Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap at six furlongs for 4-year-olds and up.

The 12-day 2019 Aqueduct spring meet begins on Friday, April 5 and is highlighted by the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial and four supporting graded stakes on Saturday, April 6. The spring meet concludes on Sunday, April 20.

To view the complete calendar for live racing at Aqueduct Racetrack in 2019 and the entire stakes calendar for the Aqueduct winter and spring meets visit NYRA.com.

About the New York Racing Association (NYRA)

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) holds the exclusive franchise to conduct thoroughbred racing at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. NYRA tracks are the cornerstone of New York State's thoroughbred industry, which is responsible for 19,000 jobs and more than $3 billion in annual economic impact to New York State.

Over the course of 225 days of live racing in 2017, NYRA generated $2.2 billion in all-sources wagering handle with paid attendance exceeding 1.7 million. While staging just over 5 percent of all races run in the United States in 2017, wagering on NYRA's races again accounted for more than 20 percent of all monies bet on thoroughbred racing in the United States.