Rice, Franco Get Final Crowns at Aqueduct

Linda Rice and Manny Franco were the respective leaders of the trainer and jockey standings at the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet, completing a sweep of this year's meetings at Aqueduct Racetrack as the leaders at the winter and spring meets as well. Statistics for the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet, which spanned from April 30 through June 28, encompassed the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course that ran from June 3 through June 7. Sunday marked the end of live racing at Aqueduct Racetrack, where racing has been conducted since 1894, and it was Rice who paced all other trainers to claim honors as Aqueduct's all-time leading trainer with 1,222 career victories. Her major wins here included four editions of the Grade 3 Distaff Handicap [La Verdad, 2014-15 as a Grade 2; Holiday Disguise, 2018; and Mommasgottarun, 2023]; the Grade 2 Remsen in 1996 with The Silver Move; the 2020 Grade 3 Withers with Max Player; the Grade 3 Excelsior in 2016 with Kid Cruz and as a listed event in 2026 with Yo Daddy; and the 2023 Grade 3 Bay Shore with Joey Freshwater. "It's hard to leave Aqueduct because we've won a lot of races here... all kinds of races - stakes, claiming, and had so much fun doing it," an emotional Rice said on Sunday. "It's hard to believe that we are walking away." On Sunday, Rice sent out dual graded stakes-placed barn favorite El Grande O to win Race 3, a six-furlong open-company optional claimer. The New York homebred for Barry Schwartz notched his seventh Big A victory, which included state-bred stakes triumphs in the 2023 Bertram F. Bongard and Sleepy Hollow. Rice said it was special to see the son of Take Charge Indy land one last trip to the Big A winner's circle. "It's very emotional for most of us, and it's a beautiful day with a great crowd and we love it," Rice said. "I'm glad we got to win a race today. El Grande O is one of our favorites and is such a little champion. It makes it really special. He's a funny little horse - you'd think he's a pony if you didn't know it, and then he goes out there and when the gates open, he's a competitor." Rice, NYRA's leading trainer in 2025 with a record 173 victories, notched 31 wins to earn her third title at this meet after coming out on top in 2023 and tying with Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher for the win in 2011. Two of her victories this meet came during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. The spring/summer meet title also marked her fourth consecutive on the circuit, adding to wins at Aqueduct spring [21 wins], Aqueduct winter [62 wins], and Aqueduct fall [31 wins]. Rice, 62, compiled a record of 122-31-24-17 with $1,849,283 in total purses, good for a win rate of 25.41 percent and an in-the-money percentage of 59.02. Among her top performers were Mursal and Bite and Strike, who each won twice during the meet. Her 31 wins came with a diverse group of horses that ranged from ages 3-to-6, and won over both dirt and turf at distances of six furlongs to 1 1/8 miles. "We're always trying to find those little gems that we can develop, and we do it in a lot of different avenues," Rice said. "We try to play the game at every level, and we enjoy it. It's fun, and I've been fortunate enough to train for people like Barry Schwartz, Chester Broman, Sheila Rosenblum - it's been very positive to my career." Chad Brown finished second in the trainer standings with 27 wins while Miguel Clement finished third with 14 wins. As she did at the last two meetings, Rice also clinched the owners title, posting 16 wins with an overall record of 44-16-8-7 and $761,795 in purse earnings. Her wins as an owner were topped by Bite and Strike's pair of victories on May 15 and June 19. Klaravich Stables finished second with 11 wins while West Point Thoroughbreds were third with eight wins. Franco, 31, has left his own mark on Aqueduct as the rider with the third-most wins here at 1,549 trips to the winner's circle. Among them were wins in two editions of the Carter as a Grade 1 in 2019 with World of Trouble and as a Grade 2 in 2025 with Crazy Mason, the Grade 2 Demoiselle [2018, Positive Spirit], Grade 2 Gazelle [2019, Always Shopping] and Grade 3 scores in the Gotham [Iron Honor, 2026], Withers [2015-16, Far From Over and Sunny Ridge; 2023, Hit Show], and Tom Fool Handicap [2022, Officiating]. "It feels great," Franco said of being among the top Big A riders of all-time. "That's what you work for. You want to make your mark, your name, and I think I'm doing that. I just want to keep doing that." Franco, NYRA's leading rider in 2025, won his third consecutive riding title here with 53 wins for his second career title at the spring/summer meet after taking home top honors in 2024. Nine of his wins this meet came at Saratoga, including the Critical Eye with Bernietakescharge. The native of Carolina, Puerto Rico posted an overall record of 246-53-49-38, good for a win rate of 21.54 percent and in-the-money rate of 56.91 percent with $4,032,824 in total purse earnings. "It means a lot now that the track is closing. I'm going to miss it so much," Franco said. "I'm just happy to be part of the story of the track, and I want to say thanks to all the trainers and owners who support me day in and day out - and my agent, John Panagot." In addition to his stakes win at the Spa, Franco's Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet highlights included wins at the Big A in the Listed License Fee [Love Cervere], Take the A Train [Cadenza] and Paradise Creek [Intricate Spirit]. "I don't want to say one is more special because all of them mean a lot," Franco said. "Whether it's a $10,000 claimer or a stake, I'm riding to win in all of them and try to make my mark. I'm happy to be in this position." Flavien Prat finished second in the standings with 33 wins while Ricardo Santana, Jr. landed third with 31 wins.