One action-packed weekend leads into another as April brings a trio of important prep races for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and the spring-meet opening of one of horse racing’s iconic tracks.
Although Saturday’s $750,000, Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino is taking place at Aqueduct in New York, there’s a strong chance the 1 1/8-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier will be won by a horse shipping north from Florida.
Many of the horses entered in Saturday’s $500,000, Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita Park appear evenly matched. There’s not much separating their best performances.
The final Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino ever to be held at Aqueduct is set for Saturday, and a very competitive field is lined up to vie for 200 qualifying points to the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve.
This feature provides a capsule look at three horses who are heating up on the Triple Crown trail and three horses whose chances for the 2026 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve are not as strong as they previously were. In the seventh edition of this blog for the 2026 run for the roses, the focus is on what has changed since the previous edition on March 24. This week proved a tough judgment call for the top three slots.
