Aqueduct Accolades: Greatest Performances

Aqueduct official track programs through the years.

 

This is our final parting gift to a special place where I can still smell the intoxicating aroma of cigars, beer, and mustard, and still feel the presence of all the great champions who competed there, stamping their place in the history books. Aqueduct, where my generation was weaned, drawn forever to The Sport of Kings. For New Yorkers, this was where the Kentucky Derby trail began each year, seeing potential Derby horses in the flesh for the first time. That was already the subject of a column we wrote last December.

With so many events going on in racing this last week and next, how do we dig deep into Aqueduct’s history while tying in Royal Ascot and the upcoming big showdown in the Stephen Foster Stakes? Well, one way is through bloodlines. By doing so we can provide the basis for this column, which as the headline suggests is about the greatest performances we have witnessed at Aqueduct, going back to 1968 with a few references to earlier events.

Rather than simply make a long list of greatest performances, I decided to break it down to three categories consisting of one performance in each category, based mainly on the story behind it. Of course there were many memorable performances that need to be mentioned, and I have placed them in an Honorable Mention section at the end. I am sure many readers will have their own unforgettable moments, so feel free to share them in the comments.

The three categories that contain my three greatest performances, in the order I wish to relive them, are:

1. The Greatest Display of Speed and Stamina
2. The Greatest Display of Speed and Weight-Carrying Ability
3. The Greatest Display of Versatility and Development

 

GREATEST DISPLAY OF SPEED AND STAMINA

We begin by tying this section to last week’s Royal Ascot meet, beginning with the Group I St. James’s Palace Stakes and the showdown between Guineas winners Bow Echo, winner of England’s 2,000 Guineas, and Gstaad, winner of the Irish 2,000 Guineas. In the end it was the favorite Bow Echo who beat Gstaad by a desperate nose. This undefeated colt’s pedigree traces to Prove Out, through his granddaughter, the two-time Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Miesque, and her son Kingmambo. Others at this year’s Royal Ascot meet who trace to Prove Out are the Group 2 Queen’s Vase winner Limestone and the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge winner Blue Bolt, as well as Satono Reve, beaten a nose in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee, and last year’s Ascot Gold Cup winner Trawlerman, who missed by head this year of making it back-to-back victories.

In addition, Prove Out also is in the pedigree of this year’s English Derby winner Christmas Day through his sire Camelot, winner of the 2,000 Guineas and English and Irish Derby. That bring us to our first story. Although some of you may be familiar with it as part of a past column several years ago, it still needs to be told again.

As we have on numerous occasions since joining Secretariat.com in 2020, we begin by going back to 1973, although this has nothing to do with Big Red. It has to do with a horse who upset, no, make that shocked, the Triple Crown winner in the Woodward Stakes at Belmont. And that horse is Prove Out. Most people remember the race because of Secretariat’s defeat. But it was at Aqueduct three weeks later against Big Red’s stablemate Riva Ridge in the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup that Prove Out equaled, and perhaps even topped, that sensational Woodward performance with another that surely will never be equaled.

I realize that “two-mile” and “speed” do not go together, but Prove Out managed to show that on October 27, 1973 they most definitely were interwoven.

Backing up a bit, we all know that the architect of this amazing performance was Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens, who had already been given the label of “The Giant Killer,” based in good part on his upsets of Kelso three times with Beau Purple and Secretariat twice, with Onion in the ’73 Whitney and again with Prove Out in the Woodward. To demonstrate the genius of Jerkens, there is one statistic we must mention that best shows how mind-boggling the accomplishments of Beau Purple, Onion, and Prove Out were, and this statistic had nothing to do with the three defeats of Kelso.

Those three horses alone, all with humble beginnings as a racehorse, defeated the winners of 12 Triple Crown races. Let that sink in. Beau Purple defeated Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Carry Back twice. Prove Out defeated Triple Crown winner Secretariat and Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner Riva Ridge. And Onion defeated Triple Crown winner Secretariat, and what most people don’t know, he also defeated Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Canonero II the year before his Whitney victory. We just needed to include that to prepare you for what Jerkens and Prove Out accomplished in the 1973 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Following Prove Out’s authorative victory over Secretariat in the Woodward, in which he ran the second fastest mile and a half on dirt ever behind Big Red’s legendary 31-length Belmont spectacle, Jerkens set his sights on the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup. Prove Out had done something in the Woodward you never see horses do — run each of his last three quarters in :24 flat, a mind-boggling feat, especially at 1 1/2 miles. Was the Woodward a fluke, just as Onion’s Whitney proved to be? Jerkens trained Prove Out like he was a superstar, able to withstand any kind of training and defeating any horse in the country, and do it with ease in record time. After all, Prove Out, only two weeks after being purchased by Jerkens for Jack Dreyfus for a mere $60,000 in early August of ’73, broke the seven-furlong track record at Saratoga in an allowance race, winning by 6 1/2 lengths in 1:21, defeating Forego. Two races later, he broke the track record for 1 1/16 miles at Belmont, defeating Halo in an allowance race by 5 1/2 lengths in 1:40 2/5.

For the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Jerkens worked Prove Out a pair of slow miles, then breezed him three furlongs in :39 the Sunday before the race. The following morning, Prove Out worked a full mile and a half in 2:39 3/5 with a final half in :49 1/5. Three days later, on the Thursday before the race, he galloped a mile and a half, after which he broke off into a dead run for a half-mile, which was timed in :47 2/5. He then galloped out an additional furlong in :12 3/5. There certainly was never anything conventional about Allen Jerkens. He was now about to take on Riva Ridge, who was coming off a track-record victory in the Stuyvesant Handicap under 130 lbs, which followed his strong second-place finish to Secretariat in the Marlboro Cup.

With all this bottom and sharpness in him, Prove Out went head and head with Riva Ridge in the Gold Cup through a seemingly suicidal half in :47 2/5. Remember, this was a two-mile race. In Kelso’s five Gold Cup wins, he ran his opening halfs in :50 :50 2/5, :49 2/5, :49 1/5, and :49. When Nashua broke the track record in the 1956 Gold Cup he went his half in :49 1/5. Hall of Famers Damascus and Arts and Letters ran their halfs in :50 1/5 and :51 1/5, respectively. Prove Out and Riva Ridge continued to battle head and head, alternating leads six times, while opening up as much as 15 lengths on the field. They were still at it after a mile in a brutal 1:37 1/5 with half of the race still to be run. Once again, by comparison, Damascus ran his mile in the 1967 Gold Cup in 1:40 1/5. Arts and Letters went his mile in 1:40 4/5 in 1969. When Kelso set his track and American record in the 1964 Gold Cup, he went his mile in 1:38 2/5.

Prove Out then opened a length lead passing the five-eighths pole, then two. By the half-mile pole Riva Ridge was spent and quickly began backing up — so brutal was the pace, he would be beaten more than 33 lengths. As the distance-loving Loud moved in for the kill and began closing in fast, Prove Out, after such a long hard battle, had to be the next to fold.

When Loud, winner of the 1970 Travers and second and third, respectively, behind the great Shuvee in the 1970 and ’71 Jockey Club Gold Cup, came charging up to challenge nearing the quarter pole, Prove Out looked like he was cooked, but amazingly, he still had something left and held his advantage. Loud had another chance to catch him when Prove Out veered in and bounced off the rail after turning for home. But, again, to the shock of everyone, Prove Out shrugged it off and spurted away from Loud. Somehow managed to close his final quarter in an incredible :24 4/5, drawing away under a hand ride to win by almost five lengths, with Loud finishing 13 lengths ahead of the third horse. Prove Out’s time was a brilliant 3:20 flat, and to this day only Kelso has run a faster two miles in this country.

So here was a horse who had won only four of his 27 starts and no stakes, defeating four future Hall of Famers (Secretariat, Riva Ridge, Forego, and Cougar II) in a two-month period, while running record times, both fractional and final, at distances from seven furlongs to two miles. And it was this remarkable display of speed and stamina in The Jockey Club Gold Cup that made Prove Out’s performance one of greatest in the history of Aqueduct.

 

GREATEST DISPLAY OF SPEED AND WEIGHT-CARRYING ABILITY

This section is tied in to Saturday’s much-anticipated Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs. The 1 1/8-mile event will be a rematch between 2025 Kentucky Derby, Belmont, and Travers winner Sovereignty and Dubai World Cup winner Magnitude, conqueror of Forever Young. It also is a grudge match for Magnitude, who was beaten over 20 lengths by Sovereignty in the Travers. Both these horses trace to the legendary Dr. Fager three times. The other big horse in the Foster, White Abarrio, also traces to Dr. Fager.

We are all aware of Dr. Fager’s speed and weight carrying ability, no matter the distance. It was his amazing brilliance in sprints and long-distance races, carrying heavy weights, that resulted in an unprecedented four championships in a single year — Horse of the Year, Handicap Champion, Sprint Champion, and Grass Champion.

With so many memorable and historic performances in his career, it is The Doc’s last start in the seven-furlong Vosburgh Handicap that to this day goes down as one of the greatest sprint performances ever, which has never been duplicated for sheer speed and ability to carry staggering weights. Here then is the story of the 1968 Vosburgh Handicap, the race that will never be seen again. And that is meant to be taken literally, as the film of that race sadly is gone forever. Years ago, I enquired about borrowing the film, along with several other races, and went down to NYRA’s film vault, only to be told that Dr. Fager’s Vosburgh was missing. It has never been seen or viewed anywhere since and is being shared here through my eyes and from first-hand experience.

Following Dr. Fager’s world-record mile at Arlington, which has never been broken in 58 years, and his gutsy victory on grass against a star-studded field in the United Nations Handicap, both carrying 134 pounds, his trainer and breeder John Nerud wanted the colt to go out with the proverbial bang in his career finale. He decided the best race for that was the seven-furlong Vosburgh, America’s premier sprint, which Dr. Fager had won the year before. Nerud knew that a spectacular victory would solidify The Doc’s claim as champion sprinter, which would give him four separate championships, something that had never been achieved before. He also felt that a sprint would be the perfect finale, allowing the tempestuous Dr. Fager to go all out for the first time in his life. Although a kind and gentle soul off the track, once in competition he ran with reckless abandon, wanting nothing in front of him but the wind blowing in his face.

Nerud wanted it to be a special occasion that racing fans would remember for a long time. When he informed NYRA racing secretary Tommy Trotter of his plans to run in the Vosburgh, it brought up the question of how much weight to put on the horse. While Trotter was pondering the situation, Nerud went into his office and offered a solution.

“I’ll tell you how much weight to put on him, Tommy,” Nerud said. “I want you to put 145 on him.” That was the kind of show he was looking for, knowing there wasn’t enough weight to stop The Doc going seven furlongs. But Trotter could not justify putting that much weight on any horse, especially picking up 11 pounds from his last start. It was a precedent in which he refused to participate. So he assessed the situation and made what many still considered to be a bold move. He assigned Dr. Fager 139 pounds, a staggering weight regardless of the distance. And guess who was waiting for him with a live bullet of his own? It was none other than Allen Jerkens, who had taken over the training of the California rocket Kissin’ George following the colt’s victory in the six-furlong Peninsula Handicap at Bay Meadows in 1:08 4/5, the ninth stakes victory of his career.

Jerkens, in addition to defeating Kelso three times and Carry Back twice, had upset champions Buckpasser, Cicada, Moccasin, Gamely, and Lady Pitt. To upset the great Dr. Fager in a sprint in his final career start would rank right up there withthe savvy trainer’s victories over Kelso and Buckpasser.

In his first start for Jerkens, Kissin’ George won the six-furlong Sport Page Handicap at Belmont Park by 3 1/2 lengths in 1:09 1/5, the fastest six-furlongs of the meet. But Nerud had more important things on his mind than Kissin’ George. There were no more tomorrows for Dr. Fager, and Nerud had the big horse primed for an unforgettable finale. For the first time in Dr. Fager’s career, Nerud went into a race with the thought of breaking a record. Here was a horse who had set a one-mile world record of 1:32 1/5 in the Washington Park Handicap under 134 pounds, winning by 10 lengths while being eased up by jockey Braulio Baeza the entire length of the stretch. Now it finally was time to let The Doc roll.

But all thoughts of a track record ended when, several days before the race, the surface was winterized, putting in a deeper cushion that made the track considerably slower. The morning of the race, the great Hirsch Jacobs and his son and assistant John walked the track, with the elder Jacobs commenting to Nerud, “It’s pretty deep today.”

In addition to Kissin’ George, the Vosburgh field also included the hard-knocking Jim J, winner of the Gravesend and Toboggan Handicaps at Aqueduct that year, as well as the Rumson Handicap at Monmouth and Royal Palm Handicap at Hialeah. The low weight at 105 pounds was the stakes-placed Villamor, in receipt of an unheard of 34 pounds from Dr. Fager.

The night before the race, Dr. Fager began to get a little colicky. The colt had suffered a serious case of colic before that year’s Met Mile that forced him to miss the race. This time Nerud stayed with him until 2 o’clock in the morning, walking him and giving him baking soda to help settle his stomach. Because it was so close to the race, he couldn’t treat him with medication. Thankfully, The Doc came out of it fine and was none the worse for wear by post time.

With Dr. Fager breaking from post 3 and Kissin’ George from post 6, it gave the latter the opportunity to get an early advantage and be more in control of the race without the intimidating presence of the wild-eyed Dr. Fager outside him. Another advantage in addition to the weight and post was the fact that Dr. Fager was dropping back to a sprint off the 1 3/16-mile United Nations on grass, which he had won on guts alone, failing to get hold of the wet and slippery turf course and battling every step of the way with the classy Advocator, in receipt of 22 pounds.

Kissin’ George, a quick gate horse, broke on top, but Baeza quickly had Dr. Fager eyeball to eyeball with him. After an opening quarter in :22 1/5, both horses were at each other’s throat. Kissin’ George jockey Bill Boland was pushing and scrubbing on his mount, but couldn’t shake loose from Dr. Fager. Still locked together, they blazed the opening half in a spectacular :43 4/5. And this was over a deeper than usual track. What was amazing was that Kissin’ George was in an all-out drive while Dr. Fager was just cruising alongside him. Baeza finally let Dr. Fager loose and he quickly kissed Kissin’ George goodbye. “He went by me at the three-sixteenths pole like I was tied to the rail,” Boland said. “And my horse was running pretty good at that point.”

As he had done in the Washington Park Handicap, Dr. Fager drew away under no urging at all from Baeza. Nerud had been looking for a spectacular sendoff for The Doc, but Baeza still had him under wraps. The lead increased to three lengths at the eighth pole, as the crowd let out a thunderous ovation in salute to a great champion. Despite not being asked, Dr. Fager still scorched the first six furlongs of the race in 1:07 4/5, which was four-fifths of a second faster than Near Man’s track record for the distance set in 1963 under a feathery 112 pounds.

With Baeza still just hand-riding him, Dr. Fager continued to pour it on. They hit the wire six lengths in front of Kissin’ George. Carrying 139 pounds over a deep winterized surface, The Doc ran the seven furlongs in a mind-boggling 1:20 1/5. That broke Rose Net’s track record by a full second and came within a fifth of a second of the world record, which he would have shattered if Baeza had asked him down the stretch. Dr. Fager’s record would last for 31 years until it was broken by a fifth of second by Artax in the 1999 Carter Handicap under 114 pounds.

“John told me this was his last hurrah and to let him put on a show,” Baeza said. “But I was concerned about the 139 pounds. At the quarter pole I was already looking back. There was no competition, so I took a hold of him. If I knew how fast he was going I would have just chirped to him and he likely would have gone faster. It was like a Rolls Royce up against Volkswagens.”

Boland too was in awe of Dr. Fager. “I couldn’t see if he was all out at the finish, but when he was close enough for me to judge, Baeza had him under a tight hold. I couldn’t believe it.”

Nerud, however, still talked about the track and what might have been. “I can’t imagine how fast he would have run if they had pulled some of that cushion off and got the track back to where it was. He would have smoked a little, wouldn’t he?”

New York Post racing columnist William Rudy, writing in The Thoroughbred Record, simply stated , “Dr. Fager said goodbye with one of the great performances in New York racing history.”

After the Vosburgh, Bill Boland, still shaking his head in disbelief, tried to find the right word to portray the beast that had just devoured his brilliant horse. There have been many superlatives used to describe Dr. Fager, but in the end it all came down to one short and simple word. Boland hesitated for a second, then said, “A freak! That’s what he is.”

That word would become part of racing vernacular. But it was born after the Vosburgh, and no horse since has deserved to wear that title more than Dr. Fager. On November 2, 1968, he became, as Webster defines the word freak, “Someone or something that differs markedly from what is usual or standard.” No one will ever think of Dr. Fager as usual or standard.The proof was witnessed at Aqueduct that day, and just as you can say about The Big A and the film footage of the Vosburgh, his like will never be seen again.

 

GREATEST DISPLAY OF VERSATILITY AND DEVELOPMENT

We don’t need to delve into bloodlines to make a connection to this week’s big events. We are all aware by now that the name Secretariat is in the pedigree of the vast majority of today’s top horses. And, yes, Secretariat is in the pedigree of Sovereignty twice, Magnitude three times, and White Abarrio three times, as well as the other big Stephen Foster starter Baeza. And while we’re at it we’ll throw in the winner of Royal Ascot’s main event, the Ascot Gold Cup, won in dramatic style this year by Scandinavia, who has Big Red in his pedigree twice.

We have witnessed numerous displays of versatility at Aqueduct over the years, but one stands out because it provided the first look at the versatility of what was to become arguably the greatest horse of all time. However, of all of Secretariat’s victories, the Gotham Stakes seems to have gotten overlooked as just a race during the time between Big Red’s Horse of the Year campaign at 2 and his march to immortality starting with the Kentucky Derby. But it was in the spring of 1973, well before his face appeared on the cover of three of the country’s biggest magazines, that the true legend of Secretariat was born. Only we didn’t realize it at the time.

If we go back to April 7 and look at Secretariat’s past performances for the Gotham, what we see is a horse with 10 lifetime starts, who after the first quarter-mile was an average of seven lengths off the lead and racing in sixth position. In the Champagne he was 11th of 12. In the Laurel Futurity he was last of eight. In the Garden State Stakes he was last of six. He was best remembered for his last-to-first sweep around horses on the far turn of the Hopeful Stakes. In his 3-year-old debut in the seven-furlong Bay Shore Stakes, he was fifth at the top of the stretch before taking the lead at the eighth pole.

There was no reason to believe the one-mile Gotham would be any different, in style and result. The race looked to be a mere formality to prepare him for his final Kentucky Derby prep in the Wood Memorial, and he was sent off as the overwhelming 1-10 favorite in the six-horse field.

At the break it was the 5-1 second choice Dawn Flight who went for the lead, but to everyone’s surprise, Secretariat was only a length behind him in third through an opening quarter in :23 1/5. Ron Turcotte then uncharacteristically moved him through on the inside to challenge for the lead on the backstretch nearing the half-mile pole, something Big Red had never done before. Then came something that when you think about it may have been the first sign of the greatness to come.

Turcotte was determined to go for it all early and he began to edge clear shortly after entering the turn. If anyone had noticed the fractional times they would have seen something they likely had never seen before, but would see again from the Meadow Stable colt a number of times. Secretariat had run his second quarter in an eye-popping :21 4/5, completing the opening half in :45 1/5, a brutal second quarter and half-mile fraction for a one-mile race by a young 3-year-old. But the big red colt was really rolling around the turn, opening a three-length lead at the three-sixteenths pole, with only Bay Shore runner-up Champagne Charlie giving chase.

At the quarter pole, Secretariat, still with a commanding lead, had run the six furlongs in a spectacular 1:08 3/5, which equaled the track record for that distance. After turning into the stretch, Turcotte looked over his right shoulder and saw Champagne Charlie getting closer, but he paid little little attention and just kept hand-riding his colt. As they approached the eighth pole, everyone began getting anxious. Secretariat’s lead had diminished to a seemingly desperate half-length, with Champagne Charlie looking strong and now 10 lengths clear of the third horse. Daily Racing Form columnist Teddy Cox was calling the race for the DRF copy editors back in the Hightstown, New Jersey office, and what he said sent shock waves through the office: “Secretariat’s gonna get beat.”

But Turcotte was still unperturbed and never went to the whip. He just kept hand-riding Secretariat, as if knowing he had a lot of horse left. Big Red’s lead quickly went from a half-length to a length, then back to two lengths. He had been playing with Champagne Charlie all along. He crossed the finish line three lengths in front, blazing the mile in 1:33 2/5, equaling the track record. DRF’s lead writer, the legendary Charlie Hatton wrote, as only he could, “Secretariat couldn’t have gone any faster had they thrown him off the grandstand roof.”

Secretariat had been an outstanding 2-year-old and showed his toughness bulling his way through horses in his previous race in the Bay Shore Stakes. But this was a different horse. This was the Secretariat who would rewrite the history books with spectacular feats never before seen. This was the Secretariat who could transform himself from a deep closer to a speed horse whenever he pleased, while destroying track records, many of which will never be equaled.

Yes, Secretariat did the unthinkable by setting a track record in all three Triple Crown races, culminating with the most breakthtaking performance in history, and continuing to set records after that on dirt and grass. That is the Secretariat everyone remembers. But what should also be remembered is that it was in the Gotham Stakes that we first saw Big Red morph into the superstar he would become.

 

OTHER HONORABLE MENTIONS

Obviously, after so many years it is extremely difficult to narrow down all the spectacular performances we have seen at Aqueduct to only three. But those are the three we chose to feature for the reasons you have just read.

Here are several others that need to be mentioned, and I am sure there are others.

Best Performance by a 3-Year-Old — The three that come to mind are of course Damascus’ demolition of the 1967 Woodward Stakes, defeating Dr. Fager and Buckpasser, in what was called “The Race of the Century.” While there was the controversy of the use of rabbits, what can’t be forgotten is that Damascus did win by 10 lengths over two of the greatest horses of all time. Then we have the devastating 1989 Gotham victory by Easy Goer, whose final time of 1:32 2/5 broke Secretariat’s stakes record and came within a fifth of a second of Dr. Fager’s world record. Finally, there is the brilliant performance by Hoist the Flag in the 1971 Bay Shore Stakes. When the son of Tom Rolfe won the Bay Shore eased up the length of the stretch by seven lengths in 1:21 flat over a track that was not playing fast, we all knew that we were seeing the birth of a superstar and early favorite to sweep the Triple Crown. But a near-fatal injury while training for the Gotham ended his career.

Greatest Versatility in Back-to-Back Races — This category must also include Forego, who became the only champion sprinter to win the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup the same year, and he did it by winning the seven-furlong Vosburgh Handicap and Gold Cup, both at Aqueduct, three weeks apart. To win going seven furlongs and then come right back and defeat a top European stayer in Copte going two miles was an extraordinary feat of speed and stamina. Those victories also nailed down the first of his three consecutive Horse of the Year titles.

Most Successful Transition From Grass to Dirt — This no doubt goes to Cigar, who, on October 28, 1994, turned to dirt following a mediocre grass career and scored a brilliant eight-length allowance victory at Aqueduct, and then followed that with a seven-length romp in the Grade 1 NYRA Mile. Cigar would go on to win a record-equaling 16 races in a row, two Horse of the Year titles, and induction into the Hall of Fame. Yes, it started at Aqueduct.

Earliest Victory by a 3-Year-Old Against Older Horses — After running in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, Rokeby Stable’s Quadrangle in 1964 and Arts and Letters in 1969 both ran in the Met Mile on Memorial Day, with Quadrangle finishing second and Arts and Letters winning in near-stakes-record time. Both would then come back a week later and win the Belmont Stakes, thwarting Triple Crown sweep attempts by Northern Dancer and Majestic Prince, respectively. They would then go on to win the Travers. Their trainer Elliott Burch had first pulled off that unique triple in 1959 when Sword Dancer, who also had run in the Derby and Preakness, won the Met Mile, the Belmont, and Travers. But his Met Mile score was at Belmont. Burch was at it again in 1972 when he beat older horses with the 3-year-old Key to the Mint in the Brooklyn Handicap at Aqueduct on July 8 and then the Whitney at Saratoga on August 5 before winning the Travers.

Most Notable Upset — Although we have already covered that with Prove Out, we have to add Beau Purple’s shocker over the 3-5 Kelso in the 1962 Suburban Handicap at Aqueduct, his first of three upsets over the five-time Horse of the Year, which, as mentioned earlier, gave birth to the name “Giant Killer” for trainer Allen Jerkens. And Beau Purple had to break the track record to do it.

Most Unusual Winning Streak — In 1977, NYRA ran the inaugural Turf Classic at 1 1/2 miles at Aqueduct. After one year at Belmont it returned to Aqueduct for the next five years. In its final four years at The Big A the race was won by a French-trained filly, all of them with a name beginning with the letter “A.” It was Anifa in 1980, April Run in 1981, April Run again in 1982, and All Along in 1983. Each of these fillies were so talented, All Along was named Horse of the Year in America, the first foreign-trained horse of any sex to achieve that honor. All Along and April Run both were named Champion Turf Filly or Mare, and all Anifa did in her Turf Classic victory was soundly defeat future Hall of Famer and two-time Horse of the Year John Henry. The French, by the way, won again in 1993 with a colt named Apple Tree.

Greatest Two-Turn Performance by a 3-Year-Old on the Derby Trail — This would have to be Bellamy Road’s jaw-dropping performance in the 2005 Wood Memorial, when he annihilated his field by 17 1/2 lengths in a sizzling 1:47 flat for the 1 1/8 miles, earning an unheard of 120 Beyer Speed Figure. This was the ultimate example of peaking one race too soon, as he finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby as the 5-2 favorite.

Fastest and Most Dominating Record at The Big A — We can’t leave out the great Ruffian, who won all five of her starts at Aqueduct, at five different distances from 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/8 miles, by an average margin of almost nine lengths.

She also won all four of her stakes at Aqueduct in stakes-record time. How this black bolt of lightning could win her first two starts at 5 1/2 furlongs by 15 and 6 3/4 lengths, equaling the Belmont track record each time, then go on to win the 1 1/2-mile Coaching Club American Oaks to complete the sweep of the Filly Triple Crown, still boggles the mind.

So, one last time, goodbye Aqueduct . You were once called “The Racetrack of the Future.” But like with all things, the future doesn’t last forever. You soon will be reduced to rubble, but your memories will stand as monuments in the annals of Thoroughbred racing.

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