The New York stretch of the Road to the Kentucky Derby kicks off on New Year’s Day at Aqueduct with the Jerome Stakes offering eight newly turned 3-year-olds the opportunity to pick up a few qualifying points, which could come in handy should those runners still have Triple Crown aspirations in the spring.

Fans returned to tracks with great enthusiasm after a year’s absence due to the pandemic. Business was brisk on all fronts as racing celebrated some sense of normalcy and looked hopefully to what shows every sign of being a bright future. Tom Pedulla recalls some of the year’s most significant moments: