Roger Cettina is enjoying a major personal triumph. A lifelong horse racing enthusiast whose small bets at Belmont Park in his youth eventually turned into six-figure prizes and hall-of-fame recognition, he has now landed the ultimate prize: overseeing the reconstruction of the iconic Long Island grandstand, the venue for the Triple Crown’s final race.
“Our firm was fortunate enough to secure this contract, and it truly felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Cettina, a senior vice president at AECOM Tishman, ahead of last week’s grand opening.
“It’s amazing to think that a horse player like me could actually be part of rebuilding Belmont Park — a place I visited regularly as a kid,” the 59-year-old added.
Growing up in Tenafly, New Jersey, Cettina developed a passion for horse racing early on, spending afternoons at Belmont and then rushing back to catch evening races at Meadowlands in East Rutherford.
He started betting modest amounts as a teenager but, about 15 years ago, he stepped up his game by entering national high-stakes competitions, wagering over $5,000 of his own money. It was more a hobby than a means to earn money, he explained.
“I enjoyed it. It’s like math — a puzzle to solve — and I completely immersed myself in it,” said Cettina.
His big break came in the 2013 National Horseplayers Championship, where amid tough competition from hundreds of entrants over three days, he earned $200,000 for second place, narrowly missing first by $1.20.
Cettina’s wife Wendy is fully supportive, especially after he surprised her with a brand-new Lexus from his winnings. He repeated a runner-up finish in 2015, adding another $230,000 to his earnings.
“I’ve won nearly half a million dollars across those two contests, and I definitely haven’t put in that much money myself,” Cettina said. “You have to be really lucky.”
His impressive longshot wins make him the only person to have placed second twice in the NHC. The Daily Racing Form dubbed him “the master” of handicapping in 2016, and he was inducted into the NHC Hall of Fame a year later.
After some uneven years, Cettina estimates his overall lifetime profit at around $300,000, jokingly admitting it’s “not nearly enough to retire” especially in places like New York and New Jersey.
He continued working full-time on major construction projects including Goldman Sachs’ Manhattan headquarters, renovations at the Javits Center, and the One and Two Manhattan West developments, the latter of which was among his favorites — until in 2024 he was called to rebuild the crown jewel of Nassau County racing from the ground up.
However, relocating posed a challenge since he had moved 75 miles south to Sea Bright, New Jersey. “I talked it over with my wife because commuting wasn’t realistic,” Cettina said. She approved of his plan to stay during the week in friends’ homes near the job sites.
For two years, he has commuted on weekends, fully embracing this unique opportunity. “I don’t know any other workers who are as passionate about this as I am,” he said. “It was an incredible experience, and to get a chance to build a racetrack was just unbelievable.”
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Fan Take: This story is a true testament to the passion and dedication that die-hard horse racing fans bring to the sport. Having someone with an authentic love for racing like Roger Cettina involved in rebuilding Belmont Park could infuse new energy and enthusiasm into the venue—and the sport—ensuring its legacy for generations to come.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
