Aqueduct: Loud music forces cancellation of Sunday races

Loud music from a sound system at the adjacent casino forced New York Racing Association officials to cancel racing Sunday at Aqueduct.

A text message sent from NYRA to trainers announced the cancellation at 1:41 p.m. EDT, 31 minutes after the first of eight races had been scheduled to start.

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NYRA placed the blame squarely on organizers of an auto and bike show that was going on at the same time at the Resorts World Casino adjacent to the track property.

“Resorts World scheduled an event in a parking lot immediately adjacent to the top of the stretch without providing NYRA with advance notice or an opportunity to discuss its potential impact on our racing operations,” NYRA vice president Andrew Offerman said in a written statement Sunday afternoon. “We were then faced with wildly unpredictable sound levels and other concerns causing potentially unsafe circumstances for horses and riders. We were left with no choice but to cancel racing due to these concerns. NYRA will work with New York Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association and the New York State Gaming Commission to determine appropriate next steps and how we can make up these lost racing opportunities for our participants.”

One trainer who had horses entered Sunday said he was in Florida but got a first-hand report right away from his stable staff in New York.

“I heard the music was loud. The ground was vibrating, it was so loud,” Mark Henning said. “My assistant said (someone) had called the cops, apparently, and when the cops came, they turned it off. But then they turned it back on. I don’t know if it was after the cops left, or maybe the cops told them that they don’t have any jurisdiction.”

This marked the second time in less than six months that a sensory distraction from the casino put a stop to racing at Aqueduct. An Oct. 11 project to treat the casino roof with a chemical product caused an overpowering, noxious smell that forced racing officials to abandon their positions on the upper floors of the racetrack. Racing was called off that day, and NYRA had to set up industrial fans that night to ventilate its building in time for racing the following day.

“It’s just absurd with these cancellations,” Hennig said. “It’s already the most expensive place in the world to train horses. Not only expensive but also the stress of everything that goes into New York state. They’ve got to find a way to compensate owners and trainers on days like this. We’re already losing money.”

Horse Racing Nation was waiting for a response Sunday to an email asking Resorts World for its side of the story.

Once Belmont Park is rebuilt and reopened next year, it is widely expected that NYRA will abandon the Aqueduct property.