Rice, Franco Claim Titles at Aqueduct's Historic Final Winter Meet

Linda Rice knew what she had accomplished the moment Aqueduct's final winter meet closed on March 29, and she described it exactly right: "a little happy and sad at the same time."

The 62-year-old trainer finished the winter meeting as its leading conditioner with a personal-best 62 wins from 247 starts, running away with the trainer's title in a meet that will not come back. NYRA's official standings confirmed what the backstretch had watched all winter: Rice's stable produced at a rate that rivals couldn't match, posting a 62-49-43 line of wins, seconds, and thirds that translated to an extraordinary 62.3 percent in-the-money rate across those 247 starts.

That number deserves a closer look. Nearly two of every three Rice-trained starters finished in the top three at Aqueduct this winter, a figure that reflects not just volume but surgical precision in horse placement. On a circuit where weather-impacted scheduling and thinner fields tested every barn's depth, Rice found the right spots relentlessly.

She also captured the owner's title with 26 wins, demonstrating the dual-role depth that separates elite operations from one-dimensional outfits. Running a competitive stable while simultaneously managing your own ownership interests demands organizational infrastructure that most conditioners simply don't have.

Jockey Manny Franco matched Rice's dominance in the saddle, closing the meet with 65 wins to claim the leading rider title. His tally was the product of strong partnerships with the circuit's top trainers and consistent mounts on competitive favorites. Those 65 victories reaffirm his standing as the go-to rider in New York: the name that top connections reach for when a high-value race needs a reliable pilot.

The historical weight of these titles isn't incidental. Aqueduct's winter meet is scheduled for closure and redevelopment, making this the final edition of a circuit that defined New York racing for generations. Rice's personal-best performance came precisely when the stage mattered most, an irony she acknowledged with characteristic directness.

For the spring transition, the implications are immediate. Training titles at NYRA meets carry real currency when owners and agents decide which barns get premium horses for Belmont's spring-summer circuit. Rice enters that conversation with her strongest-ever winter resume and an owner's title that signals stable depth rather than a hot streak. Franco heads into the spring as the circuit's most active and productive jockey, a standing that generates top-tier mount offers and shapes early-season wagering markets.

The shareable figure from this meet is that 62.3 percent in-the-money rate across 247 starts. In a winter that included weather-disrupted cards and some of the thinnest field sizes the Big A has seen, that rate reflects a trainer who not only fills races but wins them. Bettors handicapping spring cards at Belmont at the Big A should treat Rice-trained entries as automatic ITM threats regardless of class level, and Franco as a positive jockey switch whenever he picks up a new mount. The data from this winter says both of them are operating at a level their rivals haven't matched in years.

Rice and the Big A shared their final winter together, and both made it count.