Cigar Mile Again Highlights Aqueduct Fall Stakes Action

The New York Racing Association announced Sept. 7 the stakes schedule for the 2022 fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, which will offer 33 stakes, 10 of them graded events, worth a total of $6.375 million.

As previously announced, the Belmont Park fall meet will be held at Aqueduct due to the construction of vehicular and pedestrian tunnels designed to provide access to the Belmont Park infield. The Belmont at the Big A meet will begin Sept. 15 and continue through Oct. 30.

Following the conclusion of Belmont at the Big A, the 29-day Aqueduct fall meet will run Nov. 4 through Dec. 31.

The Aqueduct fall meet is highlighted by the $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap (G1) at a mile Dec. 3. The lucrative Cigar Mile Day card will include the $250,000 Remsen Stakes (G2) for juveniles going 1 1/8 miles, and its filly counterpart race, the $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes (G2) at the same distance. Rounding out the card is the $200,000 Go for Wand Handicap (G3) for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up traveling one mile.

The stakes action begins on opening day, Nov. 4, with the $150,000 Turnback the Alarm Handicap (G3), a 1 1/8-mile main track test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up. The stakes continue into the weekend with a pair of $120,000 juvenile turf sprints (the Atlantic Beach Stakes and the Stewart Manor Stakes for fillies) Nov. 5 and a pair of $150,000 one-mile dirt routes for juveniles (Nashua Stakes, G3, and Tempted Stakes for fillies) Nov. 6.

The Complete Fall Stakes Schedule at Aqueduct

The following two weekends see a quartet of $135,000 turf stakes with the Artie Schiller Stakes for 3-year-olds and up Nov. 12; the Winter Memories Stakes for sophomore fillies Nov. 13; the Gio Ponti Stakes for sophomores Nov. 19; and the Forever Together for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up Nov. 20. The Nov. 20 card will also feature two $100,000 six-furlong sprints for New York-bred juveniles with the Key Cents Stakes for fillies and the Notebook Stakes.

Graded action continues at the Big A on Nov. 25 with a strong card, led by the $300,000 Long Island Stakes (G3T) for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up traveling 1 3/8 miles on the turf. The day will also include the $175,000 Comely Stakes (G3) for sophomore fillies going nine furlongs and the $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship for sophomores and older sprinting six furlongs over the lawn.

Nov. 26 offers an additional pair of graded events with the $300,000 Red Smith Stakes (G2T) at 1 3/8 miles on turf for 3-and-up and the $175,000 Fall Highweight Handicap (G3) at six furlongs for 3-and-up, along with the $120,000 Central Park Stakes for juveniles. The weekend closes out with three stakes Nov. 27 with the six-furlong $150,000 Autumn Days Stakes on turf for fillies and mares 3-and-up, the 1 1/8-mile $150,000 Discovery Stakes for sophomores over the main track, and the $120,000 Tepin Stakes at one mile for juvenile fillies to close out turf stakes action for the year at NYRA.

The popular New York Stallion Stakes Series, open to progeny of eligible New York sires, returns to the Big A with four divisions offered this December. Dec. 4 will feature the $125,000 NYSSS Thunder Rumble Stakes for 3-year-olds and up sprinting seven furlongs on the main track, as well as the $125,000 NYSSS Staten Island Stakes for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at the same distance.

Dec. 10 will feature the $120,000 Garland of Roses Stakes for fillies and mares before the NYSSS returns on a stacked card Dec. 17. The day will feature four stakes for New York-bred and New York-sired horses, anchored by two $500,000 seven-furlong sprints for juveniles in the NYSSS Great White Way Stakes and the NYSSS Fifth Avenue Stakes for fillies. Rounding out the card are two $100,000 one-mile events for New York-bred sophomores with the Alex M. Robb Stakes and the Bay Ridge Stakes for fillies.

After a 10-day holiday break from Dec. 19-28, the stakes schedule concludes with the $135,000 Gravesend Stakes for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs Dec. 30; and the $150,000 Queens County Stakes for 3-year-olds and up traveling 1 1/8 miles Dec. 31.