Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has won Santa Anita Park’s Robert B. Lewis Stakes on 13 occasions. In fact, the last seven renewals of the one-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve qualifier have gone to Baffert trainees.
Trainer Chad Brown has won two of the last five editions of the $200,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct. He has a strong chance to pick up a third win when the 2026 edition of the 1 1/8-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve qualifier is contested on Friday.
After a week-plus of significant winter weather and Arctic temperatures across most of the eastern half of the U.S. led to several racetracks closing and postponing stakes, the upcoming week promises to be a return to normalcy for most venues, and with a boost in major races on the calendar.
Six days later than expected, New York’s Road to the Kentucky Derby will be plowed and open for business. Extreme cold forced a cancelation of the Jan. 31 stakes and delayed it until Friday at Aqueduct.
