Trainer Linda Rice continued her dominance on The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit when leading all trainers with a personal-best 62 wins at the Aqueduct winter meet, which ran from January 1 through March 29.
Rice, 62, posted an impressive 247-62-49-43 record to notch her fourth consecutive and sixth overall training title at the Big A winter meet, with additional titles in 2019-20. The veteran conditioner reflected on her winter at the Big A, which hosted its final winter meet ahead of its closure in June.
"It feels good, a little happy and sad at the same time as it's our last winter meet at Aqueduct," said Rice, who was the leading trainer on the circuit in 2025 with a record 172 wins. "Aqueduct has been a big part of New York racing history, and I'm glad to have been a part of it. We have a lot of fond memories here, so it's special and a little sad at the same time."
Among Rice's wins was an open-company stakes triumph by New York-bred With the Angels in the Correction on March 1, where the daughter of Omaha Beach strolled home a 4 1/2-length winner. Several of her pupils also netted multiple wins at the meet, including Porosity, Cool Andy, Oil Capital, Flat On, Fort Nelson and Helen's Revenge.
"It was a pretty difficult winter weather wise, and I must give a lot of credit to my staff and to my assistants," Rice said. "They fought through pretty trying conditions all winter long and managed to continue to keep things on course to get to the winner's circle.
"We're always looking for some promising young horses," Rice added. "With the Angels took a year off and came back and has been terrific this winter."
Rice's horses banked $3,014,346 in purses with a win rate of 25.10 percent and in-the-money rate of 62.35 percent.
Brad Cox finished second in the trainer standings with 19 wins while Ilkay Kantarmaci finished third with 15 wins.
Rice was also the runaway winner of the owners title with 26 wins, led by a pair of victories from Cool Andy and a second-level allowance score from Three B's. In all, horses owned by Rice banked $1,156,734 in total purses with an overall record of 107-26-23-23.
"That's a bit of a surprise," Rice said of winning the owners title, with a laugh. "I'll take it."
Kantarmaci finished second with 13 victories and Sanford Goldfarb finish third with 12 wins.
Manny Franco came out on top as the meet's leading rider, landing 65 wins for his sixth Aqueduct winter meet title after taking home top honors in 2018-20, 2023 and 2025.
"I'm happy to do it again," Franco said. "I'm just thankful to be in this position and want to say thanks to the owners and trainers. Every day, they give me the opportunity to ride these horses and I'm happy to deliver. I work hard for what I love, and I want to thank my agent, John Panagot. He's doing a tremendous job."
The 31-year-old native of Carolina, Puerto Rico posted a record of 270-65-62-38, led by an emphatic score atop Iron Honor in the Grade 3 Gotham to place the son of Nyquist on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Franco also engineered a winning ride aboard Paradise in the Listed Busher to place her on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, and aboard Igniter in the Jimmy Winkfield.
Iron Honor is entered here in Saturday's Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino, a 100-50-25-15-10 qualifier for the Kentucky Derby, while Paradise will compete for the same amount of points towards the Kentucky Oaks in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle. Franco said he is excited to ride both horses back as they pursue a trip to Churchill Downs.
"Iron Honor is one I'm looking forward for his next race in the Wood Memorial. I'm happy to be on him, and he's a talented 3-year-old," Franco said. "Paradise, too. The sky's the limit for them, so we'll see how they run on Saturday and I'm happy to be on them."
Franco, who was NYRA's year-end leading rider in 2018-19, 2023 and 2025, saw his mounts bank $3,564,011 at the meet, good for a win rate of 24.07 percent and in-the-money percentage of 61.11. Jose Lezcano finished second with 48 wins, and Jaime Rodriguez and Flavien Prat tied for third with 39 wins each.
"Every chance I get, I just try to do my best and don't take anything for granted," Franco said. "I want to do the best I can for the trainer and the owners, and for me, too. This is what I love, and I'm happy to be doing it."
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