I was 19 years old then. We'd jump on the Belt Parkway from the Rockaway parkway exit in Canarsie and be there in 15 minutes. It looked like a factory. But great Manhattan Clam Chowder. Corned Beef sandwiches with spicy mustard on club bread. Amazing. And great racing. A speed favoring track in the winter. I watched Seattle Slew win the Wood Memorial there. A great jockey colony. Angel Cordero Jr., Jorge Velazquez, Mike Venizia, Jacinto Vazquez, Eddie Maple, and Braulio Baeza. But now.....it will be a gaming complex. Live racing will be finished there. And this great racetrack, a long enduring fixture in Queens for 132 years, will become a part of history. So long "Big A". Thanks for ther memories. I'll miss you forever.
