Cigar Mile: Doc Sullivan Wheels Back for Ortiz, Who Wants Rain

Cigar Mile: Doc Sullivan wheels back for Ortiz, who wants rain

Doc Sullivan normally would not be wheeled back only two weeks from a win in a restricted stakes. But for trainer Johnny Ortiz, the Grade 2, $500,000 Cigar Mile Handicap on Saturday is not a normal situation. “It was a last-minute decision,” Ortiz said. “We were looking into the New York-bred stakes (Dec. 26), the Alex Robb, but he ran a fantastic race in his last start. Very pleased with the way he started and then just kind of eased across the…

2025 Cigar Mile Handicap Cheat Sheet

The $500,000, Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap Saturday at Aqueduct offers one final opportunity for accomplished and aspiring stakes horses to compete in a marquee dirt mile race before the calendar turns to 2026. Held around one turn, the Cigar Mile has long been an important race in the dirt mile division since its inaugural running in 1988 when Forty Niner won what was then called the NYRA Mile Handicap. Read More...

Cigar Mile, Demoiselle, Remsen leave behind rich legacies at the Big A | Topics: NYRA, Aqueduct Race Track, Cigar, New York Racing Association

Article by Brien Bouyea/NYRA: Saturday will mark the final time a trio of Aqueduct Racetrack’s most storied races are held at the Big A.