Friday, April 8, 2011
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NYRA STAKES HISTORY: THE RESORTS WORLD NEW YORK CASINO WOOD MEMORIAL
Included among them are Triple Crown winners Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946) and Seattle Slew (1977), as well as Twenty Grand (1931), Johnstown (1939), Hoop Jr. (1945), Foolish Pleasure (1975), Bold Forbes (1976), Pleasant Colony (1981) and Fusaichi Pegasus (2000).
All but a handful of Wood winners have gone on to run in the
The most stunning upset in Wood Memorial history was in 1973. Secretariat proved no match for his stablemate, Angle Light, who zipped into the lead and never looked back, leaving the wonder horse to finish third. Hall of Fame trainer Lucien Laurin blamed an abscess in the colt’s mouth for the loss, but many handicappers felt the race exposed Secretariat’s distance limitations. Of course, they were proven wrong.
Secretariat was one of a number of horses who lost the Wood but went on to win at Churchill Downs. Triple Crown winner Omaha lost the Wood, as did Monarchos (2001) and Funny Cide (2003), both of whom finished second but went on to win the Derby. Other runners-up who came back to win in Louisville were Middleground, who finished second in the 1950 Wood; Carry Back, who was second in 1961; Genuine Risk, who was third in 1980 and Go for Gin, who was second in 1994.
First run in 1925, the race was named in honor of Eugene D. Wood, a politician and racing enthusiast who was a founder of the old Jamaica Racetrack, where the race was run until 1960.
The late Hall of Famer Eddie Arcaro holds the record for the most victories in the Wood by a jockey with nine; trainer “Sunny” Jim Fitzsimmons, also a Hall of Famer, holds the record for trainers with seven Wood Memorial winners. Among contemporary trainers, Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito has three Wood wins on his resume, most recently with Bellamy Road, who set a stakes record of 1:47.16 in 2005.
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