Wood Memorial Stakes
| Grade II race | |
| Location | Aqueduct Racetrack Ozone Park, Queens, New York |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1925 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred – Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1+1⁄8 miles (9 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-year-olds |
| Weight | 123 lbs (55.8 kg) |
| Purse | $750,000 |
The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial has been run as a Grade II event since 2017.[1] It was a Grade I race from 1974 (when grading was first introduced) to 1994 and again from 2002 to 2016.[2]
The Wood Memorial is one of the major prep races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Between 1930 and 2000, eleven winners of the Wood Memorial went on to win the Kentucky Derby (Gallant Fox, Twenty Grand, Johnstown, Count Fleet, Hoop Jr., Assault, Foolish Pleasure, Bold Forbes, Seattle Slew, Pleasant Colony and Fusaichi Pegasus). Four of them also won the Triple Crown. The most famous loser in the Wood Memorial was Secretariat, who finished third in 1973.
The winner of the Wood Memorial has not won the Kentucky Derby since 2000, in part because several became injured in the weeks between the two races. For example, Toby's Corner missed the Derby with lameness in his left hind leg (2011), Eskendereya with a soft tissue injury in his left front leg (2010), I Want Revenge with a ligament injury to his right front ankle (2009) and Buddha with separation of the hoof wall from the laminae of his left front leg (2002).
The race was named to honor , a New York State politician and horse racing enthusiast who had been a founder and past president of the old Jamaica Race Course where the race was run until 1960.
From 1925 to 1939, the Wood Memorial was run over a distance of one mile and seventy yards, then at 1+1⁄16 miles from 1940 to 1951, after which it was changed to its present 1+1⁄8 miles. All entrants currently carry a weight of 123 lb.
The race was run in two divisions in 1944, 1945, 1947, 1974, and 1983.
Records[]
In 2005, Bellamy Road set a new stakes record of 1:47.16 at the 1+1⁄8 mile distance in winning by 17+1⁄2 lengths for his owner, George Steinbrenner.[3]
Most wins by a jockey:
- 9 – Eddie Arcaro (1944, 1945, 1947 (2), 1949, 1950, 1956, 1957, 1958)
Most wins by a trainer:
- 7 – "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons (1930, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1955, 1957)
Most wins by an owner:
- 4 – Greentree Stable (1927, 1931, 1944, 1963)
- 4 – Wheatley Stable (1928, 1936, 1937, 1957)
- 4 – Belair Stable (1930, 1938, 1939, 1955)
- 4 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (1935, 1945, 1947, 1956)
Winners[]
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Dist. (Miles) |
Time |
Win$ |
Gr. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Bourbonic | 3 | Todd Pletcher | Calumet Farm | 11⁄8 m | 1:54.49 | $400,000 | G2 | |
| 2020 | No Race | ||||||||
| 2019 | Tacitus | 3 | José Ortiz | William I. Mott | Juddmonte Farms Inc. | 11⁄8 m | 1:51.23 | $400,000 | G2 |
| 2018 | Vino Rosso | 3 | John Velazquez | Todd Pletcher | Repole Stable & St. Elias Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.79 | $535,000 | G2 |
| 2017 | Irish War Cry | 3 | Rajiv Maragh | H. Graham Motion | Isabelle de Tomaso | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.91 | $400,000 | G2 |
| 2016 | 3 | John Velazquez | Todd Pletcher | Repole Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:52.92 | $590,000 | G1 | |
| 2015 | Frosted | 3 | Joel Rosario | Kiaran McLaughlin | Godolphin Racing | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.31 | $590,000 | G1 |
| 2014 | Wicked Strong | 3 | Rajiv Maragh | James Jerkens | Centennial Farms | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.31 | $590,000 | G1 |
| 2013 | Verrazano | 3 | John Velazquez | Todd A. Pletcher | Let's Go Stables | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.27 | $600,000 | G1 |
| 2012 | 3 | Javier Castellano | Todd Pletcher | WinStar Farm | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.96 | $600,000 | G1 | |
| 2011 | 3 | Eddie Castro | H. Graham Motion | Dianne Cotter | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.93 | $600,000 | G1 | |
| 2010 | Eskendereya | 3 | John Velazquez | Todd A. Pletcher | Zayat Stables | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.97 | $450,000 | G1 |
| 2009 | I Want Revenge | 3 | Joseph Talamo | Jeff Mullins | David J. Lanzman & IEAH Stables | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.49 | $450,000 | G1 |
| 2008 | Tale of Ekati | 3 | Edgar Prado | Barclay Tagg | Charles E. Fipke | 11⁄8 m | 1:52.35 | $450,000 | G1 |
| 2007 | Nobiz Like Shobiz | 3 | Cornelio Velásquez | Barclay Tagg | Elizabeth J. Valando | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.46 | $450,000 | G1 |
| 2006 | Bob and John | 3 | Garrett Gomez | Bob Baffert | Stonerside Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:51.54 | $450,000 | G1 |
| 2005 | Bellamy Road | 3 | Javier Castellano | Nick Zito | Kinsman Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:47.16 | $450,000 | G1 |
| 2004 | Tapit | 3 | Ramon A. Dominguez | Michael W. Dickinson | Ronald Winchell | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.60 | $450,000 | G1 |
| 2003 | Empire Maker | 3 | Jerry Bailey | Robert J. Frankel | Juddmonte Farms | 11⁄8 m | 1:48.60 | $450,000 | G1 |
| 2002 | 3 | Pat Day | Gary & Mary West | 11⁄8 m | 1:48.60 | $450,000 | G1 | ||
| 2001 | Congaree | 3 | Victor Espinoza | Bob Baffert | Stonerside Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:47.80 | $450,000 | G2 |
| 2000 | Fusaichi Pegasus | 3 | Kent Desormeaux | Neil D. Drysdale | Fusao Sekiguchi | 11⁄8 m | 1:47.80 | $450,000 | G2 |
| 1999 | 3 | Jorge Chavez | Nick Zito | 11⁄8 m | 1:47.60 | $360,000 | G2 | ||
| 1998 | Coronado's Quest | 3 | Robbie Davis | C. R. McGaughey III | 11⁄8 m | 1:47.40 | $300,000 | G2 | |
| 1997 | Captain Bodgit | 3 | Alex Solis | Team Valor | 11⁄8 m | 1:48.20 | $300,000 | G2 | |
| 1996 | Unbridled's Song | 3 | Mike E. Smith | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.80 | $300,000 | G2 | ||
| 1995 | Talkin Man | 3 | Shane Sellers | Roger Attfield | Kinghaven Farms | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.20 | $300,000 | G2 |
| 1994 | 3 | Gary Stevens | Brandon & Marianne Chase | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.00 | $300,000 | G1 | ||
| 1993 | 3 | Rick Wilson | Benjamin W. Perkins Jr. | Char-Mari Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:48.40 | $300,000 | G1 | |
| 1992 | Devil His Due | 3 | Mike E. Smith | H. Allen Jerkens | Lion Crest Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.20 | $300,000 | G1 |
| 1991 | 3 | Craig Perret | Scotty Schulhofer | Frances A. Genter | 11⁄8 m | 1:48.40 | $300,000 | G1 | |
| 1990 | 3 | Mike E. Smith | Nick Zito | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.40 | $362,400 | G1 | ||
| 1989 | Easy Goer | 3 | Pat Day | C. R. McGaughey III | Ogden Phipps | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.60 | $340,800 | G1 |
| 1988 | Private Terms | 3 | Chris Antley | 11⁄8 m | 1:47.20 | $359,400 | G1 | ||
| 1987 | Gulch | 3 | José A. Santos | LeRoy Jolley | Peter M. Brant | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.00 | $354,300 | G1 |
| 1986 | Broad Brush | 3 | Richard W. Small | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.60 | $178,500 | G1 | ||
| 1985 | 3 | Richard Migliore | John J. Lenzini Jr. | Brian J. Hurst | 11⁄8 m | 1:48.80 | $177,900 | G1 | |
| 1984 | 3 | Jean Cruguet | John A. Nerud | 11⁄8 m | 1:51.40 | $180,000 | G1 | ||
| 1983 | 3 | Woody Sedlacek | Jacques Wimpfheimer | 11⁄8 m | 1:51.00 | $100,980 | G1 | ||
| 1982-1 | Air Forbes Won | 3 | Ángel Cordero Jr. | Edward Anchel | 11⁄8 m | 1:51.00 | $105,120 | G1 | |
| 1983-2 | Slew o' Gold | 3 | Eddie Maple | Equusequity Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:51.40 | $101,700 | G1 | |
| 1981 | Pleasant Colony | 3 | Jeffrey Fell | John P. Campo | Buckland Farm | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.60 | $98,280 | G1 |
| 1980 | Plugged Nickle | 3 | Thomas J. Kelly | John M. Schiff | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.80 | $87,300 | G1 | |
| 1979 | 3 | Ángel Cordero Jr. | David A. Whiteley | Pen-Y-Bryn Farm | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.20 | $85,650 | G1 | |
| 1978 | Believe It | 3 | Eddie Maple | Woody Stephens | Hickory Tree Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.80 | $65,490 | G1 |
| 1977 | Seattle Slew | 3 | Jean Cruguet | William H. Turner Jr. | Karen L. Taylor | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.60 | $66,180 | G2 |
| 1976 | Bold Forbes | 3 | Ángel Cordero Jr. | Laz Barrera | 11⁄8 m | 1:47.40 | $67,560 | G1 | |
| 1975 | Foolish Pleasure | 3 | Jacinto Vásquez | LeRoy Jolley | 11⁄8 m | 1:48.80 | $72,840 | G1 | |
| 1974-1 | 3 | Ángel Cordero Jr. | Stephen A. DiMauro | Salvatore Tufano | 11⁄8 m | 1:51.40 | $69,360 | G1 | |
| 1974-2 | 3 | Pancho Martin | Sigmund Sommer | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.60 | $69,660 | G1 | ||
| 1973 | Angle Light | 3 | Jacinto Vásquez | Lucien Laurin | Edwin Whittaker | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.80 | $68,940 | G1 |
| 1972 | 3 | Ron Turcotte | Lucien Laurin | Meadow Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.00 | $71,040 | ||
| 1971 | 3 | Chuck Baltazar | John P. Campo | Neil Hellman | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.80 | $67,320 | ||
| 1970 | Personality | 3 | Eddie Belmonte | Ethel D. Jacobs | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.40 | $76,570 | ||
| 1969 | 3 | Jorge Velásquez | Lucien Laurin | Claiborne Farm | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.60 | $72,085 | ||
| 1968 | Dancer's Image | 3 | Bobby Ussery | Lou Cavalaris Jr. | Peter D. Fuller | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.00 | $73,775 | |
| 1967 | Damascus | 3 | Bill Shoemaker | Frank Y. Whiteley Jr. | Edith W. Bancroft | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.60 | $73,060 | |
| 1966 | Amberoid | 3 | William Boland | Lucien Laurin | Reginald N. Webster | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.60 | $74,425 | |
| 1965 | 3 | Bobby Ussery | Hirsch Jacobs | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.20 | $60,222 | |||
| 1964 | Quadrangle | 3 | Bill Hartack | J. Elliott Burch | Rokeby Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.20 | $58,013 | |
| 1963 | No Robbery | 3 | John L. Rotz | John M. Gaver Sr. | Greentree Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.20 | $59,020 | |
| 1962 | Admiral's Voyage | 3 | Braulio Baeza | Fred W. Hooper | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.20 | $59,703 | ||
| 1961 | 3 | John L. Rotz | Thomas J. Kelly | Leonard P. Sasso | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.20 | $56,062 | ||
| 1960 | 3 | Bill Shoemaker | Burley Parke | Harbor View Farm | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.20 | $60,465 | ||
| 1959 | 3 | Ray Broussard | Pancho Martin | Emil Dolce | 11⁄8 m | 1:49.60 | $55,915 | ||
| 1958 | Jewel's Reward | 3 | Eddie Arcaro | Ivan H. Parke | Maine Chance Farm | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.20 | $37,575 | |
| 1957 | Bold Ruler | 3 | Eddie Arcaro | Jim Fitzsimmons | Wheatley Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:48.80 | $40,800 | |
| 1956 | 3 | Eddie Arcaro | Sylvester Veitch | C. V. Whitney | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.20 | $42,400 | ||
| 1955 | Nashua | 3 | Ted Atkinson | Jim Fitzsimmons | Belair Stud | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.60 | $75,100 | |
| 1954 | 3 | Bill Shoemaker | Noble Threewitt | Robert S. Lytle | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.00 | $86,000 | ||
| 1953 | Native Dancer | 3 | Eric Guerin | William C. Winfrey | Alfred G. Vanderbilt II | 11⁄8 m | 1:50.60 | $87,000 | |
| 1952 | 3 | Dave Gorman | Sol Rutchick | Myhelen Stable | 11⁄8 m | 1:52.40 | $45,200 | ||
| 1951 | 3 | Nora A. Mikell | 11⁄16 m | 1:44.40 | $35,250 | ||||
| 1950 | Hill Prince | 3 | Eddie Arcaro | Casey Hayes | Christopher Chenery | 11⁄16 m | 1:43.60 | $34,500 | |
| 1949 | Olympia | 3 | Eddie Arcaro | Ivan H. Parke | Fred W. Hooper | 11⁄16 m | 1:45.00 | $31,850 | |
| 1948 | 3 | Douglas Dodson | James P. Conway | Florence Whitaker | 11⁄16 m | 1:46.20 | $34,600 | ||
| 1947-1 | 3 | Eddie Arcaro | Jaclyn Stable | 11⁄16 m | 1:45.00 | $31,625 | |||
| 1947-2 | Phalanx | 3 | Eddie Arcaro | Sylvester Veitch | C. V. Whitney | 11⁄16 m | 1:43.80 | $31,325 | |
| 1946 | Assault | 3 | Warren Mehrtens | Max Hirsch | King Ranch | 11⁄16 m | 1:46.60 | $22,600 | |
| 1945-2 | 3 | Arnold Kirkland | C. V. Whitney | 11⁄16 m | 1:45.80 | $18,945 | |||
| 1945-1 | Hoop Jr. | 3 | Eddie Arcaro | Ivan H. Parke | Fred W. Hooper | 11⁄16 m | 1:45.00 | $18,945 | |
| 1944-1 | 3 | Eddie Arcaro | John M. Gaver Sr. | Greentree Stable | 11⁄16 m | 1:44.20 | $19,625 | ||
| 1944-2 | 3 | Johnny Longden | Bert Mulholland | George D. Widener Jr. | 11⁄16 m | 1:46.20 | $20,115 | ||
| 1943 | Count Fleet | 3 | Johnny Longden | Don Cameron | Fannie Hertz | 11⁄16 m | 1:43.00 | $20,150 | |
| 1942 | 3 | Wayne D. Wright | Florence Whitaker | 11⁄16 m | 1:45.20 | $22,900 | |||
| 1941 | Market Wise | 3 | Don Meade | George W. Carroll | Louis Tufano | 11⁄16 m | 1:45.60 | $16,650 | |
| 1940 | 3 | Leon Haas | Max Hirsch | 11⁄16 m | 1:45.80 | $19,225 | |||
| 1939 | Johnstown | 3 | James Stout | Jim Fitzsimmons | Belair Stud | 1m, 70 yds | 1:42.00 | $17,675 | |
| 1938 | 3 | James Stout | Jim Fitzsimmons | Belair Stud | 1m, 70 yds | 1:43.00 | $17,450 | ||
| 1937 | Melodist | 3 | Johnny Longden | Jim Fitzsimmons | Wheatley Stable | 1m, 70 yds | 1:42.80 | $19,150 | |
| 1936 | 3 | Jim Fitzsimmons | Wheatley Stable | 1m, 70 yds | 1:43.20 | $10,775 | |||
| 1935 | 3 | Raymond Workman | Thomas J. Healey | C. V. Whitney | 1m, 70 yds | 1:42.80 | $11,350 | ||
| 1934 | High Quest | 3 | Dominick Bellizzi | Brookmeade Stable | 1m, 70 yds | 1:43.80 | $3,990 | ||
| 1933 | 3 | Catawba Farm (Madelaine H. Austin) | 1m, 70 yds | 1:42.60 | $3,760 | ||||
| 1932 | 3 | Linus McAtee | Joseph Bauer | Thomas M. Cassidy | 1m, 70 yds | 1:43.00 | $10,400 | ||
| 1931 | Twenty Grand | 3 | Charley Kurtsinger | James G. Rowe Jr. | Greentree Stable | 1m, 70 yds | 1:42.60 | $10,200 | |
| 1930 | Gallant Fox | 3 | Earl Sande | Jim Fitzsimmons | Belair Stud | 1m, 70 yds | 1:43.60 | $10,150 | |
| 1929 | 3 | Mack Garner | Jacques Stable | 1m, 70 yds | 1:44.00 | $11,000 | |||
| 1928 | 3 | Wheatley Stable | 1m, 70 yds | 1:46.00 | $11,300 | ||||
| 1927 | 3 | James G. Rowe Sr. | Greentree Stable | 1m, 70 yds | 1:43.60 | $9,005 | |||
| 1926 | Pompey | 3 | William R. Coe | 1m, 70 yds | 1:42.00 | $8,700 | |||
| 1925 | 3 | Ivan H. Parke | James G. Rowe Sr. | Harry Payne Whitney | 1m, 70 yds | 1:43.40 | $7,600 |
Notes:
- In 1956, won but was disqualified and placed 2nd.
- In 1962, Admiral's Voyage and finished in a dead heat. However, Sunrise County, was disqualified and placed 2nd.
- Leroy S. (1984), Cahill Road (1991), Irgun (1994), Coronado's Quest (1998), Buddha (2002). I Want Revenge (2009), Eskendereya (2010), and Toby's Corner (2011) are recent horses to win the Wood Memorial Stakes, but not run in the Kentucky Derby.[4]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "Blue Grass, Wood Memorial Downgraded". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ "Wood Memorial Stakes Profile". equibase.com. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ Mieszerski, Bob (2005-04-10). "Bellamy Road Rules in Wood Memorial". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ TVG Trackside Live, April 6th, 2006 edition.
External links[]
Categories:
- 1925 establishments in New York City
- Horse races in New York (state)
- Aqueduct Racetrack
- Jamaica Race Course
- Flat horse races for three-year-olds
- Triple Crown Prep Races
- Grade 2 stakes races in the United States
- Graded stakes races in the United States
- Sports competitions in New York City
- Recurring sporting events established in 1925