Named after the racetrack, itself named after the Ridgewood Aqueduct.
The Queens County Jockey Club opened the track on September 27, 1894, near the conduit of the Brooklyn Waterworks that brought water from eastern Long Island to Ridgewood Reservoir. It was named 'Aqueduct' after that conduit, the Ridgewood Aqueduct. Aqueduct was the last racetrack operating within New York City limits; its final races were held on June 28, 2026.