We all know the Aqueduct casino is going to be a good thing – really. But it caused its own little set of problems on Thursday.

A construction crew working on the casino – which is expected to begin operating 4,500 long-awaited VLTs in late summer – accidentally severed a major electronic cable that leads from nearby Rockaway boulevard to Aqueduct this morning. As a result, the track lost all communications with its tote company, rendering it unable to take wagers and broadcast racing. Aqueduct was forced to cancel live racing and simulcasting for the day, and Belmont – where NYRA has operated in off-track betting facility since the shutdown of NYC OTB in December – was also closed for simulcasting.

This was the eighth full-card cancellation for this inner-track meet; a ninth card was cancelled early in the program due to high winds. But this cancellation can’t be blamed on the weather.

NYRA was working overnight to shift some tote operations to Belmont and run new cables to the cameras so that live racing could resume on Friday.