Pol Seeks $ To End Track’s Bad Luck
Instead of cashing a winning ticket, an unknown bandit scored a valuable trophy and electronic devices from Aqueduct Racetrack during a reported burglary last Thursday, Feb. 20-the latest setback for the struggling South Ozone Park facility.
Law enforcement sources said the crook pilfered two laptop computers, a flat-top television and a flat-screen monitor from a second floor office at about 8 p.m. last Thursday.
But the burglar’s big prize, authorities stated, was a Breeders’ Cup trophy taken from a case inside a second-floor restaurant. The trophy-a replica of the Torrie horse statue created in the late 1580s by Giovanni da Bologna-was originally awarded to the owners of Proud Truth, winner of the 1985 Breeders’ Cup Classic held at Aqueduct.
Reportedly, the trophy was valued at $5,000 when it was made and is worth in excess of $10,800 today.
The New York Racing Association (NYRA), Aqueduct’s operator, later reported the burglary to the 106th Precinct. An investigation is ongoing.
Known to horseplayers as “The Big A,” Aqueduct has been on something of a public relations losing streak recently. Earlier this month, police collared a Jamaica man who allegedly sexually assaulted a mentally disabled woman inside a bathroom stall at the track on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2.
A report in the New York Daily News on Sunday, Feb. 23, documented a host of other problems at Aqueduct, including dilapidated conditions in its clubhouse restaurant, dwindling attendance and alleged homeless squatting. Even so, the report mentioned, the track rakes in revenue from simulcast and Internet wagering-and a share of video lottery terminal (VLT) proceeds from Resorts World New York Casino, which opened in 2010 within the former Aqueduct grandstand.
The track’s future has come into question, as last year, members of the NYRA Reorganization Board hinted at potentially closing the track in the near future to trim costs and support its two other tracks-Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. The tracks are owned by the state; the NYRA previously claimed ownership but ceded control in 2008 in order to receive a 25-year extension of its operating license and an operational loan.
Board members claimed the NYRA operated at a loss between 2012 and 2013 despite the regular infusion of VLT revenue.
Hoping to keep Aqueduct running, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder visited the track on Monday, Feb. 24, for a press conference to announce legislation directing $30 million toward capital improvements at the facility.
Should Goldfeder’s legislation become law, the $30 million would be secured through existing funding from Resorts World VLTs-four percent of its proceeds-provided to NYRA for capital renovations to Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.
The lawmaker stated New York City’s lone racetrack has been given the short-shrift in comparison to NYRA’s other facilities.
“If you had to bet between Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct Racetrack, Aqueduct would finish last every time,” Goldfeder said. “It’s unacceptable that this once community gem and national treasure has become an eyesore and serious danger to our families and neighbors in southern Queens. It’s time that NYRA stop neglecting our community and make the necessary investment to ensure thatAqueduct is safe and that we continue the economic growth that we need in Queens.”
Local union delegates and community activists on hand for Monday’s event agreed with Goldfeder’s sentiment.
“We must reach out to the governor with the legislation that Assemblyman Goldfeder is proposing and reinforce that NYRA is taking our homegrown money,” said Democratic District Leader Frank Gulluscio. “I’ve grown up in this neighborhood and I’ve seen the total deterioration of this building, and now it’s time to take action to maintain our facility and allow it to expand and create jobs for our community.”
The Times Newsweekly reached out to the NYRA for comment; as of press time, none was provided.
Goldfeder added he has sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo seeking his “assistance and commitment to help provide Aqueduct Racetrack.” In his 2012 State of the State Address, Cuomo announced a proposal for the nation’s largest convention center at Aqueduct, but the plan was scrapped after negotiations with Genting Americas-the parent company of ResortsWorld New York-failed.
Thoroughbred racing has been conducted at Aqueduct since 1894. The NYRA took over its operations in the 1950s and conducted a major renovation to fill the dates of the former Jamaica Racetrack (now Rochdale Village).
In 1975, Aqueduct became the first NYRA facility to hold winter races after the organization installed a special 1 mile dirt oval within the 1 1/8 mile main track.
Aqueduct races from November through April each year, encompassing about half of NYRA’s racing calendar. The Wood Memorial, held every April as a key prep for the Kentucky Derby, is its premiere race. The 1985 Breeders’ Cup-the nation’s biggest thoroughbred racing event outside of the Triple Crown-was the first and only time Aqueduct held the event.
In its heyday, Aqueduct would attract tens of thousands of spectators, but the number would tumble with the advent of off-track betting parlors and, most recently, phone and Internet wagering. On average, it was reported, Aqueduct has a daily attendance of about 3,500.
Along with the races, Aqueduct Racetrack was the site of a Papal Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II during his 1995 visit to the NewYork City metropolitan area.
The Aqueduct complex measures about 200 acres in size and includes a large backstretch stable area.
