Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States.

In December 2022 the NYRA formally announced its intention to upgrade the facilities at nearby Belmont Park to make it suitable to host year-round thoroughbred racing and training, which would ultimately lead to the closure of Aqueduct Racetrack, sometime in late 2026.

[4] Operating near the site of a former conduit of the Brooklyn Waterworks that brought water from eastern Long Island to the Ridgewood Reservoir, Aqueduct Racetrack opened on September 27, 1894, by the Queens County Jockey Club.

(In the years after Aqueduct was rebuilt in 1959 the track lay idle from early November until April 1; by 1971 this period had been reduced to from just before Christmas until March 1, around when off-track betting began in New York City, creating a demand for horse racing to be contested in the region year-round.)

The prestigious Jockey Club Gold Cup was usually run there between 1958 and 1974, and what was perhaps the track's most distinctive race, the marathon 2+1⁄4 miles (3.6 km) Display Handicap, was last contested in 1990.

In the 1944 running of the Carter Handicap, Brownie, Bossuet, and Wait A Bit hit the finish line at the same time.

From 1978 to 2011, the Aqueduct Flea Market was held on Saturdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays, and was located in the racetrack's north parking lot along Rockaway Boulevard.

The flea market contained over 500 vendors and offered a hodgepodge of goods, including bedding, incense, pots and pans, and other items.

[26] After the financial collapse and closure of the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation on December 10, 2010, Aqueduct Racetrack saw an increase in patrons for the first time in several years.

According to the reports, Belmont Park, which is 8 miles (13 km) east in Elmont, New York, would have become a nearly year-round track and would get the video lottery machines authorized to operate at Aqueduct.

Belmont Park would have been modified to handle winter requirements, which would have included heated stands and the construction of new stables.

Aqueduct traditionally has been considered a track frequented by blue collar fans while Belmont Park has a more upscale reputation.

State Assembly Member Audrey I. Pheffer (D), whose district included Aqueduct, fought the closing of the track, which she felt was important to the local community.

Any closure at Aqueduct, which is equipped for the cold winter months, would have required millions of dollars in renovations at Belmont, a summer-only track.

The casino features four automated table games: baccarat, blackjack, craps, and roulette in addition to a wide array of video slot machines.

The revenue would be divided between the racetracks and the State and would allow tracks to increase purses and to attract better quality horses in races.

The proposal according to most sources was dead on arrival since, even if the Shinnecocks received official Bureau of Indian Affairs recognition as a tribe, the Aqueduct Casino would still have to be approved by the New York State Legislature and the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and Aqueduct would have to first be taken into trust by the Department of Interior, as the Shinnecocks historically had not owned property in Queens.

[46] In October 2008, the State selected the Delaware North as the winning bidder among three proposals to build a racino at Aqueduct.

However, the selection of an operator for the casino was delayed for several months because State officials frequently changed the rules and could not reach an agreement on the winning bidder, prompting Wynn to pull out of the running in November.

[56][57] On March 11, 2010, the State withdrew its support for the AEG bid and announced that a new group would be selected through an "expedited, transparent, apolitical, and publicly accountable process.

[59] On June 2, 2010, New York Lottery officials announced that six groups were considering submitting bids to develop the racino.

[62] Genting will expand the property into an integrated resort if it is awarded a full casino license for downstate New York.

An expanded Resorts World would also include 350,000 square feet of convention and meeting space as well as a 7,000 seat arena for entertainment events such as concerts.

It has only one platform on the Brooklyn-bound side, requiring southbound travelers to transfer to a northbound train at Aqueduct–North Conduit Avenue station, which is located a few blocks to the south.

[65] NYRA also operates a free shuttle bus between the North Conduit Avenue station and the Clubhouse entrance.