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.
Welcome to Kentucky Derby Prospect Profiles, where we take a look each week at a recent winner on the Road to the Derby schedule of preps that offer qualifying points for the 1 ¼-mile classic race May 2, 2026, at Churchill Downs.
The Southwest Stakes may not have produced a Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve winner in 2025 as it did in 2024 with Mystik Dan, but with a seven-figure purse it’s no surprise the 1 1/16-mile stakes, which has been rescueduled to Friday, Feb. 6, attracted a full field of 14 starters.
Two days after seeing his 2-year-old male champion Ted Noffey knocked off the road to the 2026 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve due to injury, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher apparently found a talented replacement.
