Press Kit - Grade 1, $1 million Resorts World Casino New York City Wood Memorial

**Please see the attached and copied below press kit for the Grade 1, $1 million Resorts World Casino New York City Wood Memorial**

 

 

MEDIA KIT

 

Equine Addenda Bios                                   2 – 9

 

Records                                                        10

 

Wood Memorial/Kentucky Derby Winners  11

 

Wood Stakes History                                    12 – 14

 

 

 

 

88^th RESORTS WORLD CASINO NEW YORK CITY WOOD MEMORIAL

EQUINE ADDENDA

 

ALPHA

Owner: Godolphin Racing

Trainer: Kiaran McLaughlin

Jockey: Ramon Dominguez

Earnings: $300,000

 

• Won Aqueduct’s Grade 3 Withers in February, a race his sire, Bernardini, captured in 2006 prior to taking the Preakness, Travers, and Jockey Club Gold Cup
• Also won Aqueduct’s Count Fleet in January and was second to Union Rags in the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont in October
• A homebred, Alpha is out of English stakes winner Munnaya

 

GODOLPHIN RACING

Godolphin Racing is operated by the Al Maktoum family, which rules Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The driving force behind Godolphin Racing is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Maktoum, the prime minister and vice president of the U.A.E. Sheikh Mohammed also races under the name Darley Stables. Eclipse Award winners who raced under the Godolphin or Darley banner are Bernardini, Daylami, Fantastic Light, Pebbles, Singspiel, and Tempera. In addition, Sheikh Mohammed campaigned champion Arazi in partnership with Allen Paulson. Internationally, Godolphin has won major races like the English 1000 and 2000 Guineas, Epsom Oaks, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, and Hong Kong Cup and Vase. Sheikh Mohammed had one previous Wood starter, finishing second in 2011 with Darley’s Arthur’s Tale. On Saturday, Godolphin claimed their fifth Dubai World Cup when Monterosso won the $10 million race.

 

KIARAN MCLAUGHLIN

A native of Lexington, Kentucky, McLaughlin attended the University of Kentucky for a year before heading to the backstretch, where he worked for several trainers including Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. After a stint as a jockey agent, he went to Dubai to train for that country’s Al Maktoum family in 1993 and sent out his first North American starters in 1995. He has campaigned dozens of stakes winners, including 2006 Horse of the Year and top Older Male Invasor, who gave McLaughlin his first Breeders’ Cup Classic and Dubai World Cup victories. He has competed once in the Wood Memorial, finishing second in 2006 with Jazil, who went on to win the Belmont Stakes. Kiaran and his wife, Letty, are the parents of Erin and Ryan.

 

RAMON DOMINGUEZ

The Venezuelan-born Dominguez is the two-time reigning Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Jockey and has topped the NYRA rider standings the past three years. He has led the national standings for victories twice, winning 431 races in 2001 and 453 races in 2003. Dominguez teamed up with Better Talk Now to win the 2004 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf, and added a second Breeders’ Cup triumph in 2011 with Juvenile winner Hansen. He was the regular rider of Gio Ponti, who won seven Grade 1s, including back-to-back editions of the Man o’ War and Shadwell Turf Mile. Dominguez has ridden in the Wood Memorial four times, winning in 2004 with Tapit, his first mount in the race. He and his wife, Sharon, live in Floral Park with their sons Alexander and Matthew.

 

 

 

 

88^th RESORTS WORLD CASINO NEW YORK CITY WOOD MEMORIAL

EQUINE ADDENDA

 

CASUAL TRICK

Owner: Robert V. LaPenta

Trainer: Nick Zito

Jockey: Corey Nakatani

Earnings: $50,025

 

• Was second in the Gulfstream Derby and enters the Wood off an eighth in an optional claimer and a seventh in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth after flipping his palate
• Underwent surgery to correct his breathing problem following the Fountain of Youth
• Like Alpha, Casual Trick is a son of Bernardini
• Dam, Casual Look, won the 2003 Epsom Oaks

 

ROBERT LAPENTA

A graduate of Iona University, LaPenta’s horses run in the maroon and gold colors of his alma mater. A 66-year-old Yonkers native, his introduction to owning racehorses came in a 1998 partnership with University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino. Chairman, president and CEO of L-1 Identity Solutions, a personal asset and identity protection company, LaPenta has campaigned many stakes winners, including War Pass, the champion 2-year-old male of 2007 who was second in the 2008 Wood Memorial, and Da’ Tara, who upset the 2008 Belmont Stakes. He has had two other starters in the Wood, finishing third in 2009 with Just a Coincidence and second in 2010 with Jackson Bend, who is entered in Saturday’s Grade 1 Carter Handicap.

 

NICK ZITO

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005, Zito is a two-time winner of the Kentucky Derby (Strike the Gold, 1991; Go for Gin, 1994) who also won the Preakness in 1996 with Louis Quatorze. Zito captured his first Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes in 2004 with Birdstone, and in 2008 teamed up with LaPenta to win a second Belmont with Da’ Tara. Thirty Six Red helped establish Zito as a national presence in 1990 when he won the Wood Memorial, preceding Zito’s 1999 and 2005 Wood wins, respectively, with Adonis and Bellamy Road.

 

COREY NAKATANI

The bulk of Nakatani’s 25 years in racing were spent riding in Southern California, where he garnered meet titles at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, Del Mar, and Oak Tree and won races like the Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup, and Pacific Classic aboard Lava Man. He has won nine Breeders’ Cup events, taking the Sprint 1996-98 with Lit de Justice, Elmhurst, and Reraise. He competed full-time at Saratoga for the first time in 2011, with his meet highlighted by Jackson Bend’s win in the Grade 1 Forego for LaPenta and Zito. On October 8, 2011, he went 6-for-7 at Belmont Park, including Grade 1 triumphs in the Jamaica Handicap with Western Aristocrat and the Frizette with eventual Champion Two-Year-Old Filly My Miss Aurelia.

 

 

 

88^th RESORTS WORLD CASINO NEW YORK CITY WOOD MEMORIAL

EQUINE ADDENDA

 

GEMOLOGIST

Owner: WinStar Farm

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Javier Castellano

Earnings: $184,855

 

• The bay son of Tiznow out of the Mr. Prospector mare Crystal Shard was bred in Kentucky by G. Watts Humphrey Jr. & Louise Ireland Humphrey Revocable Trust
• Gemologist was a $310,000 purchase at the 2009 Keeneland November Sale
• Undefeated in four starts, Gemologist capped his juvenile campaign with a win in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club and opened 2012 with a seven-length allowance victory at Gulfstream Park on March 16

 

 

WINSTAR FARM

In 2000, Kenny Troutt, founder of Excel Communications, purchased Prestonwood Farm in Kentucky with former partner Bill Casner. Subsequently renamed WinStar Farm, the operation won two classic races in 2010 with Super Saver capturing the Kentucky Derby and Drosselmeyer – later victorious in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic – taking the Belmont Stakes. WinStar bred the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide, later named champion Three-Year-Old. Alone or in partnership, WinStar has campaigned Grade 1 winners Any Given Saturday, Bluegrass Cat, Colonel John, Court Vision, Spring at Last, and Well Armed. WinStar stands 14 stallions, including leading sires Distorted Humor and Tiznow.

 

TODD PLETCHER

The recipient for the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer from 2004-07 and again in 2010,  Pletcher trained champions Ashado, English Channel, Fleet Indian, Lawyer Ron, Left Bank, Rags to Riches, Speightstown, Wait a While and Uncle Mo. Pletcher has won 26 NYRA meet titles and was the leading trainer on the circuit in 2011, 2010, 2004 and 2003. In 2006, Pletcher set a single-year earnings record of $26,820,243 – breaking the record held by his mentor D. Wayne Lukas – and improved that mark a year later when his horses earned $27,116,097. In 2010, the trainer won his first Wood Memorial with Eskendereya.

 

JAVIER CASTELLANO

Castellano, who moved to the United States from Venezuela in 1997, was the regular rider of Ghostzapper, the brilliant colt who won the 2004 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic en route to being named that season’s Horse of the Year. In 2006, he guided Bernardini to victory in the Grade 1 Preakness and later teamed  with the eventual Champion Three-Year-Old Colt to add Grade 1 victories in the Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup. In 2011, Castellano won 11 Grade 1 Races, the most of any jockey in the nation, with eight of those victories coming in New York. The rider’s first Wood Memorial win was in 2005 aboard Bellamy Road.

 

 

 

88^th RESORTS WORLD CASINO NEW YORK CITY WOOD MEMORIAL

EQUINE ADDENDA

 

MY ADONIS

Owner: George & Lori Hall

Trainer: Kelly Breen

Jockey: Elvis Trujillo

Earnings: $301,000

 

• A bay son of Pleasantly Perfect, My Adonis was bred in Kentucky by K&G Stables
• My Adonis is named for George Hall’s late father
• Winner of the 2011 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs, My Adonis finished third in the Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park and, most recently, was second to Hansen in Aqueduct’s Grade 3 Gotham

 

 

GEORGE & LORI HALL

Residents of Rumson, N.J., the Halls won the biggest race in New York last year when Ruler On Ice upset the Belmont Stakes. The Halls embarked on their ownership career by purchasing four yearlings for a total of $180,000 in 2004. George Hall graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and is founder, president and majority stockholder of Clinton Group, Inc., an investment company that manages approximately $6.6 billion in capital. He and wife Lori own 385-acre Annestes Farm in Versailles, Ky. where they keep seven broodmares, including Keeneland Kat. The Halls have 24 horses with Kelly Breen, whom they named as their private trainer in 2007.

 

KELLY BREEN

New Jersey-born and raised, the 43-year-old Breen was a schoolboy soccer player and wrestler who took riding lessons and mucked stalls at a neighbor’s farm in Old Bridge. A growth spurt at 16 ended his dream of becoming a jockey, but he became an exercise rider and later an assistant for trainer Walter Reese at the age of 18. Breen’s first winner came in 1992, and he worked on his own until joining Ben Perkins, Sr. as an assistant trainer from 1994-2000. Breen opted to set out on his own for good when Perkins retired and his son took over training for New Farm in 2000. Leading trainer at Monmouth Park in 2005 and 2006, Breen has trained stakes winners West Side Bernie, Bold Union, Atomic Rain, Truth and Justice, Desire to Excel, Praying for Cash and Appealing Spring. Praying for Cash ran second in the $1 million Haskell Invitational in 2006.

 

ELVIS TRUJILLO

A 2000 graduate of the Laffit Pincay Jockey School in his native Panama, Trujillo rode in Panama and Mexico before emigrating to the United States in 2001. The 28-year-old rider divides his time between New Jersey and Florida and in 2011 was the leading rider at Monmouth Park, where he also led the standings in 2009. 2007 was a breakout year for Trujillo, riding Maryfield to victory in the inaugural running of the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, the first Breeders’ Cup mount of his career, and taking his first ever meet title at Calder Race Course. Top mounts include multiple Grade 1-winning turf horse Presious Passion, as well as graded winners Luna Vega, Chirac, Western Smoke, Gozzip Girl and Kiss the Kid.

 

88^th RESORTS WORLD CASINO NEW YORK CITY WOOD MEMORIAL

EQUINE ADDENDA

 

STREET LIFE

Owner: Magnolia Racing Stable LLC and Hidden Brook Stable

Trainer: Chad Brown

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

Earnings: $84,405

 

• The dark bay son of Street Sense, out of the Grindstone mare Stone Hope, was purchased for $130,000 at  Keeneland’s September yearling sale; Magnolia Racing purchased a half-interest in the colt following his maiden victory
• Made his debut at Gulfstream Park in January, finishing eighth at odds of 22-1 going six furlongs
• Traveled north to win his next two starts over Aqueduct’s inner track, breaking his maiden going one mile, 70 yards on February 11 and taking the 1 1/16-mile Broad Brush overnight stakes on March 17

 

MAGNOLIA RACING

Bob and Janice McNair will be going for their third victory in the Wood, having won in 2001 with Congaree, and again in 2006 with Bob and John, when racing under the banner of Stonerside Stable. Magnolia Racing is the name the McNairs gave their stable following the sale of Stonerside Farm and connected horses to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum for his Darley operation in 2008. At the time, the lone horse they retained was Cowboy Cal, a multiple graded stakes winner, who retired to Pin Oak Stud at the end of 2009. McNair, who owns the Houston Texans, is the founder of Cogen Technologies Inc., a power cogeneration business, which was sold to Enron in 1999. The McNairs own Street Life in partnership with Hidden Brook Stable.

 

CHAD BROWN

Mechanicville, N.Y. native Chad Brown got his start in the sport by spending his college summers and the year following his graduation from Cornell working for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. Brown then spent five years working for another Hall of Famer, the late Bobby Frankel, splitting his time between Southern California and Saratoga and went on to oversee Frankel's divisions in Kentucky, Monmouth Park and Gulfstream Park. He went out on his own in 2007, and in 2011 saddled winners of more than $3 million, including Top Female Turf Horse Stacelita, who annexed the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational and Beverly D., Awesome Feather, winner of the Gazelle, and Zagora, who won the Diana.

 

JUNIOR ALVARADO

The son of Venezuelan jockey Rafael Alvarado, Junior Alvarado – so named because his name was mistakenly entered as Junior Rafael Alvarado on his birth certificate – knew from an early age he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. Having attended apprentice jockey school near his hometown of Barquisimeto, Alvarado moved his tack to Caracas for a brief stint and then joined his brother, Edwin, a groom, at Gulfstream Park during the winter of 2007. He traveled to the Midwest, where he won the riding title at Arlington Park in 2009 and began riding in New York during the winter of 2010-11 at Aqueduct. In 2011, Alvarado, 25, rode winners of more than $5 million including stakes winners Meese Rocks (Broadway), Swag Daddy (Damon Runyon), C C’s Pal (Garland of Roses) and Arena Elvira (Turnback the Alarm).

 

88^th RESORTS WORLD CASINO NEW YORK CITY WOOD MEMORIAL

EQUINE ADDENDA

 

TEETH OF THE DOG

Owner: J.W. Singer LLC

Trainer: Michael Matz

Jockey: Joe Bravo

Earnings: $36,450

 

• Made his first start on December 8 at Gulfstream Park, finishing third at six furlongs
• Narrowly beaten in his second start, the Bluegrass Cat colt broke his maiden on February 4 with a wire-to-wire score at the Wood distance
• Originally slated to run in the Illinois Derby, Teeth of the Dog was re-routed to the Wood after he did not draw in at Hawthorne

 

 

J.W. SINGER

Jose Singer, 60, has been in racing for 25 years, and Teeth of the Dog offers him his first shot at getting to the Kentucky Derby. The Santa Domingo-based owner of plastics, printing and manufacturing companies, won the 2008 Grade 1 Clasico Internacional del Caribe, the richest race for 3-year-olds in South American and the Caribbean, with Sicotico, who retired having won 24 of 26 starts. Singer, who also lives in New York City and Miami, has approximately eight horses in training, with Michael Matz as well as Rick Dutrow Jr., and John Sadler in California.

 

MICHAEL MATZ

Matz, a long-time horseman, rode on the Olympic equestrian team in the 1976, 1992, and 1996 Summer Games. In ’96, Matz was honored to be asked to carry the American flag into Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremonies. He started training thoroughbreds in 1998 with a three-horse stable. When he failed to make the Olympic team in 2000, he made training his full-time profession. In 2006, he saddled Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro and Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Round Pond, and in 2011 won the Grade 2 Saratoga Special and the Grade 1 Champagne with Union Rags, who is currently among the favorites for the Kentucky Derby. Matz, who with his wife Dorothy (D.D.) survived the 1989 crash landing of United Flight 232 after all of its hydraulic systems had failed over the farmlands of Iowa, are the parents of Michelle, Lucy, Michael Jr., Alex, Robert and Arthur.

 

JOE BRAVO

Bravo, 40, has ranked consistently among the top 25 jockeys in North America and has long dominated the standings in New Jersey, where he won 13 riding titles at Monmouth Park. A frequent visitor to New York, in 2011 he won the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga with Sean Avery and the Grade 2 Futurity at Belmont Park with Jack’s in the Deck. Bravo, who rides in Florida during the winter, lives in Eatontown, N.J.

 

 

 

 

88^th RESORTS WORLD CASINO NEW YORK CITY WOOD MEMORIAL

EQUINE ADDENDA

 

THE LUMBER GUY

Owner: Barry Schwartz

Trainer: Mike Hushion

Jockey: Cornelio Velasquez

Earnings: $75,000

 

• The gray son of Grand Slam, out of the Unbridled’s Song mare Boltono, was bred in New York by Schwartz
• He debuted at Aqueduct on January 28, winning a six-furlong maiden by 9 ¼ lengths in 1:10.20 and earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 90
• Stepped into stakes company for his next start, stumbling at the start and then romping to a 4 ¼-length victory in the Miracle Wood at Laurel Park on February 25
• Developed a quarter crack coming out of the Miracle Wood, which was successfully patched by Ian McKinlay in late March

 

 

BARRY SCHWARTZ

Schwartz, who grew up in a one-bedroom apartment in the Bronx, borrowed $10,000 in 1968 to partner with childhood friend and fashion designer Calvin Klein and establish Calvin Klein, Inc. The two built the business into a multibillion-dollar operation and one of the most successful and recognizable brands in the industry. A member of The Jockey Club, Schwartz has been an active owner in thoroughbred horse racing since 1978. In 2001, he was awarded the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Award as the “Person Who Did the Most for Racing” by the New York Turf Writers’ Association. Schwartz served as chairman of the New York Racing Association from 2000-2004. He has owned the 750-acre Stonewall Farm in Granite Springs, NY, since 1979.

 

MIKE HUSHION

A native of New York, Mike Hushion discovered horse racing while majoring in economics at the University of Oklahoma. He subsequently got a job on the racetrack through a friend, working for Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens. He saddled his first winner, Tugboat Ryan, at Aqueduct in 1975 at the age of 27 and recorded his 1,000^th career victory at the Big A in 2007, with River City Rebel. Among his 16 stakes wins in 2011 were Lovely Lil (Go for Wand Handicap, Union Avenue), Nicole H (Distaff, Interborough), Sunrise Smarty (Fall Heighweight), and Ava K. (Bouwerie).

 

CORNELIO VELASQUEZ

A native of Panama, Velasquez, 43, first visited the racetrack at age 15 with his sister, and subsequently enrolled in the national jockey school. In his first year of racing he was his country’s top apprentice jockey and was the leading rider again in 1994 and 1995. He came to the United States in 1996, and has been among the top 10 jockeys on the NYRA circuit every year since 2003. In 2011, he finished second to Eclipse Award winner Ramon Dominguez with 193 victories, among them his 3,000^th North American victory aboard Up in Smoke at Aqueduct on November 27. The winner of the 2008 Wood Memorial with Nobiz Like Shobiz, Velasquez and  his wife, Roxanne, have three daughters.

 

88^th RESORTS WORLD CASINO NEW YORK CITY WOOD MEMORIAL

EQUINE ADDENDA

 

TIGER WALK

Owner: Sagamore Farm

Trainer: Ignacio “Nacho” Correas, IV

Jockey: John Velazquez

Earnings: $77,630

 

• The bay son of Tale of the Cat was bred in Kentucky by River Bend Farm
• Began his career on turf, breaking his maiden in his third start at Laurel Park last November
• His lone victory on dirt came in his next start, a one-mile optional claimer, also at Laurel
• Third behind Alpha in the Grade 3 Withers, Tiger Walk subsequently was fourth behind Hansen in the Grade 3 Gotham after leaving from post position 13

 

SAGAMORE FARM

Located in Glyndon, Md., the historic farm was once owned by Alfred G. Vanderbilt, II and was home to 1953 Belmont Stakes winner Native Dancer, Bed o’Roses and Discovery. It was purchased in 2007 by Under Armour co-founder and chief executive officer Kevin Plank, who has begun refurbishing the property, including a six-furlong training track and 90-stall training barn with quarter-mile indoor track. Sagamore campaigned multiple stakes winner Shared Account, whose triumph at 46-1 in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf was the biggest upset in the race’s history.

 

IGNACIO “NACHO” CORREAS IV

Former assistant to California-based trainer William Currin, Correas was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a family that has been involved with training thoroughbreds for nearly nine decades. In 2009, Correas became the lead trainer at Sagamore Farm. Notable horses include Monzon, who won the Count Fleet Stakes on New Year’s Day, 2011 at Aqueduct and competed in the 143rd Belmont Stakes, and Humble and Hungry, who was no worse than third in his six 2011 starts, including a victory in the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs. Correas also trains Millionreasonswhy, winner of the Grade 2 Matron Stakes at Belmont Park in 2011, and an entrant in the Grade 3 Comely.

 

JOHN VELAZQUEZ

Velazquez relocated to New York in 1990 upon the advice of jockey and fellow Puerto Rican Angel Cordero, Jr., now his agent. The move has paid dividends for Velazquez, who has been the leading rider on the NYRA circuit four times and has won 22 meet titles, most recently at Saratoga in 2011 with 54 victories. He also passed Cordero to take the second spot on the all-time win list at the Spa with 655 victories to Jerry Bailey’s 693. Winner of the Eclipse Award in 2004 and 2005 as the nation’s Outstanding Jockey, Velazquez captured his first Kentucky Derby in 2011 aboard Animal Kingdom. Winner of the 2007 Belmont Stakes aboard the filly Rags to Riches, Velazquez took the 2010 Wood Memorial with Eskendereya. He and his wife, Leona, have two children, Lerina and Michael Patrick.

 

 

RESORTS WORLD CASINO NEW YORK CITY WOOD MEMORIAL RECORDS

 

OWNERS

Four Winners:

Wheatley Stable – Distraction (1928), Teufel (1936), Melodist (1937), Bold Ruler (1957)

Belair Stud – Gallant Fox (1930), Fighting Fox (1938), Johnstown (1939), Nashua            (1955)

Greentree Stable – Saxon (1927), Twenty Grand (1931), Stir Up (1944), No      Robbery (1963)

C.V. Whitney – Today (1935), Jeep (1945), Phalanx (1947), Head Man (1956).

 

TRAINERS

Eight Winners:

“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons – Distraction (1928), Gallant Fox (1930), Teufel (1936), Melodist (1937), Fighting Fox (1938), Johnstown (1939), Nashua (1955), Bold Ruler (1957).

 

Consecutive Winners:

Barclay Tagg – Nobiz Like Shobiz (2007), Tale of Ekati (2008)

Lucien Laurin – Upper Case (1972), Angle Light (1973)

“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons – Teufel (1936), Melodist (1937), Fighting Fox (1938), Johnstown (1939).

 

JOCKEYS

Nine Winners:

Eddie Arcaro - Stir Up (1944), Hoop Jr. (1945), Phalanx (1947, 1st Div.), I Will (1947,    2nd Div.), Olympia (1949), Hill Prince (1950), Head Man (1956), Bold Ruler (1957),       Jewels Reward (1958).

           

LOWEST/HIGHEST PRICED WINNERS

Native Dancer –$2.20 (1953); Easy Goer – $2.40 (1989)/Manassa Mauler – $129.50 (1959)

 

STAKES RECORD

Bellamy Road: 1:47.16 (2005)

 

 

 

20 KENTUCKY DERBY WINNERS PREPPED IN THE WOOD MEMORIAL

 

2003-Funny Cide (2^nd to Empire Maker)

2001-Monarchos (2^nd to Congaree)

2000-Fusaichi Pegasus (Won)

1994-Go For Gin (2^nd to Irgun)

1981-Pleasant Colony (Won)

1980-Genuine Risk (3^rd to Plugged Nickle)

1977-Seattle Slew* (Won)

1976-Bold Forbes (Won)

1975-Foolish Pleasure (Won)

1973-Secretariat* (3^rd to Angle Light)

1961-Carry Back (2^nd to Globemaster)

1951-Count Turf (Unplaced behind Repetoire)

1950-Middleground (2^nd to Hill Prince)

1946-Assault* (Won)

1945-Hoop Jr. (Won)

1943-Count Fleet* (Won)

1939-Johnstown (Won)

1935-Omaha* (3^rd to Today)

1931-Twenty Grand (Won)

1930-Gallant Fox* (Won)

 

*-Won Triple Crown

Wood Memorial finish in parenthesis

 

11 Wood Memorial winners have won the Kentucky Derby

5 horses finished second in the Wood Memorial and won the Kentucky Derby

3 horses finished third in the Wood Memorial and won the Kentucky Derby

1 horse was unplaced in the Wood Memorial and won the Kentucky Derby

 

NYRA STAKES HISTORY: THE RESORTS WORLD CASINO NEW YORK CITY WOOD MEMORIAL

 

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The Wood Memorial is the last major New York prep race for the Kentucky Derby, and throughout its history has been a significant springboard to success at Churchill Downs. Beginning with Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox in 1930, 11 Wood winners have gone on to take the Run for the Roses.

 

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 Derby, with 24 of them taking the favorite’s role. The roster of Wood winners who were beaten favorites in the Derby reads like a Who’s Who in Racing, notably Easy Goer (1989), Damascus (1967), Bold Ruler (1957), Nashua (1955), Native Dancer (1953) and Phalanx (1947).

 

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.

 

-30-

 

The Resorts World Casino New York  City Wood Memorial

Year

Horse

Wt.

Time

Owner

Trainer

Jockey

Value to winner

2011

Toby’s Corner

123

1:49.93

Diane Cotter

H. Graham Motion

Eddie Castro

600,000

2010

Eskendereya

123

1:49.97

Zayat Stable

Todd Pletcher

John Velazquez

450,000

2009

I Want Revenge

123

1:49.49

IEAH Stables, David J. Lanzman

Jeff Mullins

Joe Talamo

450,000

2008

Tale of Ekati

123

1:52.53

Charles E. Fipke

Barclay Tagg

Edgar Prado

450,000

2007

Nobiz Like Shobiz

123

1:49.46

Elizabeth J. Valando

Barclay Tagg

Cornelio Velasquez

450,000

2006

Bob and John

123

1:51.54

Stonerside Stable

Bob Baffert

Garrett Gomez

450,000

2005

Bellamy Road

123

1:47.16

Kinsman Stable

Nicholas Zito

Javier Castellano

450,000

2004

Tapit

123

1:49.70

Ronald Winchell

Michael Dickinson

Ramon Dominguez

450,000

2003

Empire Maker

123

1:48.70

Juddmonte Farms

Robert Frankel

Jerry Bailey

450,000

2002

Buddha

123

1:48.61

Gary and Mary West

H. James Bond

Pat Day

450,000

2001

Congaree

123

1:47.96

Stonerside Stable

Bob Baffert

Victor Espinoza

450,000

2000

Fusaichi Pegasus

123

1:47.92

Fusao Sekiguchi

Neil Drysdale

Kent Desormeaux

450,000

1999

Adonis

123

1:47 3/5

Paraneck Stable

Nicholas P. Zito

Jorge Chavez

360,000

1998

Coronado's Quest

123

1:47 2/5

Stuart Janney III

Shug McGaughey

Robbie Davis

300,000

1997

Captain Bodgit

123

1:48 1/5

Team Valor

Gary Capuano

Alex Solis

300,000

1996

Unbridled's Song

123

1:49 4/5

Paraneck Stable

James T. Ryerson

Mike Smith

300,000

1995

Talkin Man

123

1:49 1/5

Kinghaven Farm

Roger Attfield

Shane Sellers

300,000

1994

Irgun

123

1:49

Brandon & Marianne Chase

Steven W. Young

Gary Stevens

300,000

1993

Storm Tower

126

1:48 2/5

Char-Mari Stable

Ben W. Perkins Jr.

Rick Wilson

300,000

1992

Devil His Due

126

1:49 1/5

Lion Crest Stable

H. Allen Jerkens

Mike Smith

300,000

1991

Cahill Road

126

1:48 2/5

Frances A. Genter

Flint S. Schulhofer

Craig Perret

300,000

1990

Thirty Six Red

126

1:50 2/5

B. Giles Brophy

Nicholas P. Zito

Mike Smith

362,400

1989

Easy Goer

126

1:50 3/5

Ogden Phipps

Shug McGaughey

Pat Day

340,800

1988

Private Terms

126

1:47 1/5

Locust Hill Farm

Charles Hadry

Chris Antley

359,400

1987

Gulch

126

1:49

Peter M. Brant

Leroy Jolley

Jose Santos

354,300

1986

Broad Brush

126

1:50 3/5

Robert E. Meyerhoff

Richard W. Small

Vince Bracciale

178,500

1985

Eternal Prince

126

1:48 4/5

Brian J. Hurst

John J. Lenzini Jr.

Richard Migliore

177,900

1984

Leroy S.

126

1:51 2/5

John A. Nerud

Jan Nerud

Jean Cruguet

180,000

1983

Bounding Basque

126

1:51 2/5

Jacques Wimpfheimer

Woody Sedlacek

Gregg McCarron

100,980

1983

Slew o' Gold

126

1:51

Equusequity Stable

Sidney Watters Jr.

Eddie Maple

101,700

1982

Air Forbes Won

126

1:51

Edward Anchel

Frank LaBoccetta

Angel Cordero Jr.

105,120

1981

Pleasant Colony

126

1:49 3/5

Buckland Farm

John P. Campo

Jeffrey Fell

98,280

1980

Plugged Nickle

l26

l:50 4/5

John M. Schiff

Thomas J. Kelly

Buck Thornburg

87,300

1979

Instrument Landing

l26

l:49 l/5

Pen-Y-Bryn Farm

David Whiteley

Angel Cordero Jr.

85,650

1978

Believe It

l26

l:49 4/5

Hickory Tree Stable

Woody Stephens

Eddie Maple

65,490

1977

Seattle Slew

l26

l:49 3/5

Karen L. Taylor

William Turner Jr.

Jean Cruguet

66,l80

1976

Bold Forbes

l26

l:47 2/5

E. Rodriguez Tizol

Lazaro S. Barrera

Angel Cordero Jr.

67,560

1975

Foolish Pleasure

l26

l:48 4/5

John L. Greer

Leroy Jolley

Jacinto Vasquez

72,840

1974

Flip Sal

l26

l:5l 2/5

Salvatore Tufano

Stephen DiMauro

Angel Cordero Jr.

69,360

1974

Rube The Great

l26

l:49 3/5

Sigmund Sommer

Frank Martin

Miguel A. Rivera

69,660

1973

Angle Light

l26

l:49 4/5

Edwin Whittaker

Lucien Laurin

Jacinto Vasquez

68,940

1972

Upper Case

l26

l:49

Meadow Stable

Lucien Laurin

Ron Turcotte

7l,040

1971

Good Behaving

l26

l:49 4/5

Neil Hellman

John P. Campo

Chuck Baltazar

67,320

1970

Personality

l26

l:49 2/5

Mrs. Ethel D. Jacobs

John W. Jacobs

Eddie Belmonte

76,570

1969

Dike

l26

l:49 3/5

Claiborne Farm

Lucien Laurin

Jorge Velasquez

72,085

1968

Dancer's Image

l26

l:49

Peter Fuller

Lou Cavalaris Jr.

Robert Ussery

73,775

1967

Damascus

l26

l:49 3/5

Mrs. Edith W. Bancroft

Frank Whiteley Jr.

William Shoemaker

73,060

1966

Amberoid

l26

l:49 3/5

Reginald N. Webster

Lucien Laurin

William Boland

74,425

1965

Flag Raiser

l26

l:50 l/5

Isidor Bieber

Hirsch Jacobs

Robert Ussery

60,222

1964

Quadrangle

l26

l:50 l/5

Rokeby Stable

Elliot Burch

W. Hartack

58,0l3

1963

No Robbery

l26

l:49 l/5

Greentree Stable

John Gaver

J. L. Rotz

59,020

1962

Admiral's Voyage

l26

l:49 l/5

Fred W. Hooper

Chuck Parke

B. Baeza

59,703

1961

Globemaster

l26

l:50 l/5

Leonard P. Sasso

Tommy Kelly

J.L. Rotz

56,062

1960

Francis S.

l26

l:50 l/5

Harbor View Farm

Burley Parke

W. Shoemaker

60,465

1959

Manassa Mauler

l26

l:49 3/5

Emil Dolce

Frank Martin

R. Broussard

55,9l5

1958

Jewel's Reward

l26

l:50 l/5

Maine Chance Farm

Ivan H. Parke

E. Arcaro

37,575

1957

Bold Ruler

l26

l:48 4/5

Wheatley Stable

Jim Fitzsimmons

E. Arcaro

40,800

1956

Head Man

l26

l:50 l/5

C. V. Whitney

Sylvester Veitch

E. Arcaro

42,400

1955

Nashua

l26

l:50 3/5

Belair Stud

Jim Fitzsimmons

T. Atkinson

75,l00

1954

Correlation

l26

l:50

R. S. Lytle

Noble Threewit

W. Shoemaker

86,000

1953

Native Dancer

l26

l:50 3/5

Alfred G.Vanderbilt

William C. Winfrey

E. Guerin

87,000

1952

Master Fiddle

l26

l:52 2/5

Myhelen Stable

Sol Rutchick

D. Gorman

45,200

1951

Repetoire

l26

l:44 2/5

Mrs. N. A. Mikell

Albert Jensen

P. McLean

35,250

1950

Hill Prince

l26

l:43 3/5

C. T. Chenery

Casey Hayes

E. Arcaro

34,500

1949

Olympia

l26

l:45

F. W. Hooper

Ivan H. Parke

E. Arcaro

3l,850

1948

My Request

l26

l:46 l/5

B. F. Whitaker

James P. Conway

D. Dodson

34,600

1947

Phalanx

l26

l:43 4/5

C. V. Whitney

Sylvester Veitch

E. Arcaro

3l,325

1947

I Will

l26

l:45

Jaclyn Stable

Sidney Jacobs

E. Arcaro

3l,625

1946

Assault

l26

l:46 3/5

King Ranch

Max Hirsch

W. Mehrtens

22,600

1945

Jeep

l26

l:45 4/5

C. V. Whitney

L.T. Ruff

A. Kirkland

l8,945

1945

Hoop, Jr.

l26

l:45

F. W. Hooper

Ivan H. Parke

E. Arcaro

l8,945

1944

Lucky Draw

l26

l:46 l/5

G. D. Widener

Bert Mullholland

J. Longden

2l,ll5

1944

Stir Up

l26

l:44 l/5

Greentree Stable

John M. Gaver Sr.

E. Arcaro

l9,625

1943

Count Fleet

l26

l:43

Mrs. J. D. Hertz

G. D. Cameron

J. Longden

20,l50

1942

Requested

l20

l:45 l/5

B. F. Whitaker

J.H. McCoole

W. D. Wright

22,900

1941

Market Wise

l20

l:45 3/5

Louis Tufano

George W. Carroll

D. Meade

l6,650

1940

Dit

l20

l:45 4/5

W. Arnold Hanger

Max Hirsch

L. Haas

l9,225

1939

Johnstown

l20

l:42

Belair Stud

Jim Fitzsimmons

J. Stout

l7,675

1938

Fighting Fox

l20

l:43

Belair Stud

Jim Fitzsimmons

J. Stout

l7,450

1937

Melodist

l20

l:42 4/5

Wheatley Stable

Jim Fitzsimmons

J. Longden

l9,l50

1936

Teufel

ll2

l:43 l/5

Wheatley Stable

Jim Fitzsimmons

E. Litzenberger

l0,775

1935

Today

ll2

l:42 4/5

C. V. Whitney

Thomas J. Healey

R. Workman

ll,350

1934

High Quest

l20

l:43 4/5

Brookmeade Stable

Robert A. Smith

D. Bellizzi

3,990

1933

Mr. Khayyam

l22

l:42 3/5

Catawba Farm

Matthew P. Brady

P. Walls

3,760

1932

Universe

l20

l:43

T. M. Cassidy

-

L. McAtee

l0,400

1931

Twenty Grand

l20

l:42 3/5

Greentree Stable

James G. Rowe Jr.

C. Kurtsinger

l0,200

1930

Gallant Fox

l20

l:43 3/5

Belair Stud

Jim Fitzsimmons

E. Sande

l0,l50

1929

Essare

ll0

l:44

Jacques Stable

Joe Johnson

M. Garner

ll,000

1928

Distraction

l20

l:46

Wheatley Stable

George Tappen

D. McAuliffe

ll,300

1927

Saxon

ll7

l:43 3/5

Greentree Stable

James G. Rowe Jr.

G. Ellis

9,005

1926

Pompey

l20

l:42

W. R. Coe

William Karrick

B. Breuning

8,700

1925

Backbone

ll0

l:43 2/5

H. P. Whitney

James G. Rowe Sr.

I. Parke

7,600