Horse racing fan turns $2 bets into $500K, helps rebuild Belmont Park

For Roger Cettina, rebuilding Belmont Park was the kind of opportunity that could only come around once in a lifetime.The 59-year-old senior vice president at AECOM Tishman had spent decades as a passionate horse racing fan, making modest $2 and $5 bets as a teenager before becoming a serious competitor in national horseplayer contests. Years later, his love for the sport brought him back to the legendary Long Island racetrack - this time not as a spectator, but as one of the people helping rebuild it.“Our company was lucky enough to get the contract to do this, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Cettina told The New York Post ahead of the racetrack’s grand opening.“Like, wow, a horse player like me could actually build the new Belmont Park — someplace that I came so often when I was younger,” he added.From teenage bets to nearly $500,000 in winningsCettina’s fascination with…