All too often in racing, as in life, when one rises another must diminish. With the unveiling of the new Belmont Park looming, the fortunes of the aging Aqueduct Racetrack really had only one way to go. Competition from alternate gaming in addition to intra-city pressure made the land the track stands on invaluable, and the writing appeared to be on the wall for the aging facility.With 132 years packed under its belt, Aqueduct made its swansong on Sunday, June 28, closing out a history that spanned seven decades while playing host to numerous champions and some of racing's greatest stars. Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Ruffian, Kelso, Damascus, Kelso, Dr. Fager and Cigar are just a few of the champions whose hooves graced the Big A.However, while the list of stalwarts who raced at the venue is long, it is arguably the hard-knocking horses and people that have created the backbone of the track.Among the diehards seen frequenting the Big A on any given race day (yes, even in the winter), Aron Yagoda, a horse owner and longtime patron of the track, fell in love with Aqueduct early on and remained a hardcore regular to the very end.“I've been coming out since I was a child,” explained Yagoda. “I sit in my grandfather's old box, D17, when I run my own horses to this day. And I'm always out there, rain or shine. Whether it is two degrees or 100 degrees, I'll be out there every time my horse runs because it makes me think of my grandpa.”Offering some humor to add levity to counter the obvious nostalgia, Yagoda said, “I've been sitting in the same seat since 1976.”Flashing a grin, he added, “I haven't gone very far in life–eight feet.”Also introduced to the track as a youngster, Linda Rice came to the track with her father Clyde Rice, a highly-respected trainer and horseman in his own right. Forging her own way on the track since, Rice has made a name for herself along the New York circuit, in particular at the Big A. As of the track's closing, Rice holds the distinction of having trained the most winners at the oval (1,222).“I was about nine years old when I came here with my father,” she recalled. “My father would ship horses in and I would go everywhere he went. I built my career in New York, right here at Aqueduct because we would race here seven months a year.”The Wisconsin native, who recorded her 2000th career victory at Aqueduct in 2020, has built an enviable training resume, with many of her wins coming at Aqueduct. Earlier this March, Rice notched her fourth consecutive, and sixth overall, training title at the Big A winter meet.With Aqueduct having played such an integral role in her career, the trainer admits the track's closing is anything but easy.“It'll be a big change and there are a lot of emotions,” she admitted. “It's been pretty emotional to turn the page on Aqueduct. I have so many memories here, too many to even count. There have been lots of wins and plenty of losses along the way. [We've had] lots of fun with friends, family, bettors, clients and owners. It's just been an amazing run at Aqueduct and we'll miss it.”Another to feel the track's closing acutely is former jockey and television personality Richie Migliore. A 10-time leading rider at the Big A, 'The Mig' rode at the track over the course of three decades, registering over 2200 victories during that time. He remains the rider with the most victories at the venue.“I had been coming to the racetrack here at Aqueduct since I was nine, 10 years old,” he said. “And as a kid, I could tell you every winner of the Wood Memorial–jockey, trainer, owner, horse.”As a rider, Migliore ultimately won Aqueduct's marquee race for 3-year-olds, taking the 1985 renewal with Eternal Prince.“As I was coming into the winner's circle [following the win], I wasn't that far removed from that kid that used to study that wall,” he recalled. “And when it dawned upon me that I was going to be on that wall, it was extremely emotional and it honestly affected me deeply because I was that kid that fell in love with this and now I was part of it. That will always stand out.”Hall of Fame jockey Ramon Dominguez, whose sparkling career was also curtailed by injury, won three Eclipse Awards during his time in the saddle. Among his career highlights at Aqueduct, he won the 2012 GI Cigar Mile with Stay Thirsty, who also won Aqueduct's GIII Gotham Stakes under Dominguez.“Winning the Cigar Mile with Stay Thirsty was definitely a highlight,” the Venezuelan said. “[The track's closing] really a bittersweet moment for me. There are so many wonderful memories here. And I had my last ride ever here at Aqueduct, so it is a full-circle moment. I am really overwhelmed with so many great memories, more positive than the losses. I had a wonderful time riding at Aqueduct.”Since its opening in 1959, Aqueduct served as a stage for many of the sport's most influential trainers, owners and jockeys. However, the core that paved its foundation was the horsemen and women that called the track home year-round.Among them is trainer Carlos Martin. The lifelong New Yorker, Martin is the son and grandson of renowned horsemen Jose Martin and Hall of Famer Frank 'Pancho' Martin, respectively.The third-generation trainer not only recorded his first career victory at Aqueduct with No Fear in 1989, but he also garnered his first career Grade I victory at the Big A, taking the 1991 Top Flight Handicap with Buy The Firm.“I have memories of looking up at the pictures of my grandfather winning the 1959 Wood Memorial with Manassa Mauler who beat the great horse First Landing from Meadow Stable,” Martin recalled. “Watching my father win the Demoiselle Stakes with Goodbye Halo at 40-1 and she would later win the Kentucky Oaks for [Hall of Fame trainer] Charlie Whittingham. I have a lot of great memories at Aqueduct.”And what makes the track so unique and special?“Aqueduct is the 'meat and potato' kind of place where all the horsemen kept New York racing going for the last 50 years, when it wasn't Saratoga or Belmont, and it was winter racing which was so important to the community,” he explained. “It's a racetrack that holds so many memories for so many people and for so many years. The fans are so diversified, the ethnicities of different fans that you don't get any place else in the world but here in New York City.”While the track will remain open for simulcasting through to the opening of Belmont, closing day at the Big A marked the last chance for many to get a glimpse of the storied track. Fittingly, the final card was bolstered by a healthy crowd, an electric atmosphere and plenty of fun and laughter. However, if one looked closely, a tear or two could be seen being shed by even the most seasoned race goers.And as the curtain drew to a close at the Big A, there was no sugarcoating the fact that the place that served as a second home to so many for so long would be no more.Yagoda said, “The childhood memories are going down when this building goes down.”The post Remembering Aqueduct, The End of an Era appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.