Management and horsemen alike will be hoping for radio silence Thursday at Aqueduct as racing resumes following one of the strangest cancellations one could conceive. Sunday’s card, the final one of the winter meet, was canceled by management due to “unacceptable noise levels” owing to blaring music from an auto show held just outside the fence that separates a parking lot for the Resorts World Casino and the top of Aqueduct’s stretch. The cancellation brought new meaning to March Madness. Now that April has arrived, so too has the Aqueduct spring meet. For at least the first three weeks, it won’t look much different than the winter offering with the exception of Saturday when five stakes races – highlighted by the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial – are held. The Wood is part of a 13-race card that includes one race brought back from Sunday with others likely to follow over the coming days. :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  When Belmont Park was open, turf racing at Aqueduct typically began the first week of April. But with Aqueduct now in its third year of being the lone downstate track while Belmont is being redone, turf racing won’t start until April 24 with the goal of preserving the course through the spring, part of the summer, and most of fall. The first two turf stakes of the year – the Woodhaven and Memories of Silver, for 3-year-olds and 3-year-old fillies, respectively – will be held April 26 and 27. NYRA eliminated the Danger’s Hour and Plenty of Grace, a pair of turf stakes for older horses. In between a pair of Saturday cards where entries numbered 123 each, there is Thursday and Friday where entries, for the pair of eight-race cards, are a combined 112. Topping Thursday’s card is a second-level allowance/optional $62,500 claiming race, scheduled for 1 3/16 miles. Otello, who won his first two starts but has gone 0 for 5 since he took the Mucho Macho Man Stakes on New Year’s Day at Gulfstream Park, is trying to stretch out in this spot. Otello, a son of Curlin out of the Eskendereya mare Isabella Sings, finished third going 1 1/16 miles in a softer spot than this Jan. 31 at Tampa Bay Downs. “Pedigree-wise I think he can handle it,” said Miguel Clement, assistant trainer to his father, Christophe. “More often that not he’s been going at them late, maybe he can get there with the extra distance.” Speaking specifically of the race at Tampa, Clement said “from the half-mile to the quarter pole he hit a flat point. Then he came on to rally again.” Dylan Davis, NYRA’s leading jockey in wins in 2024, is back in New York after riding the last three months at Gulfstream. Davis rides Otello from post 6. Good Skate won this same race and at this configuration 13 months ago. Good Skate recently came off an eight-month layoff to win a $50,000 claimer by three-quarters of a length. Macallan, trained by Todd Pletcher, is up from Florida, where he came off an 11-month layoff to win a first-level allowance/optional $25,000 claimer at Gulfstream Park. Magical Ways, Rungius, and Peek complete the field. Winter handle down slightly All-sources handle at the recently concluded Aqueduct winter meet was $255,640,649, down 1.7 percent from the 2024 winter handle figure of $260,157,869, according to figures provided by the New York Racing Association. There were 388 races run over 45 cards of racing in 2025 compared to 384 races held over 45 cards in the winter of 2024. There were four cancellations this winter, compared to three last winter. Ontrack handle was $24,411,543, down 7.1 percent from the 2024 figure of $25,195,179. Average field size at the 2025 winter meet was 6.76 horses per race compared to 6.87 in 2024. Linda Rice was the leading trainer and owner at the winter meet. As a trainer, she won 51 races followed by Rick Dutrow (18), Rudy Rodriguez (14), Brad Cox (12), Rob Atras (12), and Horacio De Paz (12). As an owner, Rice had 22 wins, seven more than Michael Dubb. Sanford Goldfarb (11), Ilkay Kantarmaci (7), and BellaBlue Racing (7) rounded out the top five. Despite not riding a single winner for Rice, Manny Franco was the leading jockey with 64 wins, eight more than Jose Lezcano, who rode 34 winners for Rice. Kendrick Carmouche (46), Eric Cancel (30), and Ruben Silvera (22) completed the top five. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.