The 2026 start of turf racing at Aqueduct Racetrack will be moved back two weeks due to the impact of heavy snowfall in January and February paired with continued cold overnight temperatures in March, according to The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) release Sunday.
Turf racing was initially slated to begin on Friday, Apr. 3, but the launch of the 2026 grass campaign on the NYRA circuit will move to Thursday, Apr. 16.
The Listed $150,000 Plenty of Grace Stakes, which was slated to be the first turf stakes of the season on Apr. 4, will move to Friday, Apr. 17. Nominations for the Plenty of Grace will remain open until Saturday, Apr. 4.
Despite the start of the 2026 NYRA turf season being pushed back, turf racing is still scheduled to commence earlier than in both 2024 and 2025.
The current Aqueduct winter meet will conclude on Sunday, Mar. 29 with the 2026 spring meet set to open Thursday, Apr. 2 and continue through Sunday, Apr. 26 with live racing conducted Thursday-Sunday. The spring meet will offer 15 live race days in total.
The Big A spring meet is highlighted by the 101st running of the GII Wood Memorial on Apr. 4.
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