The prestigious Woodward Stakes – the change that has come over the years
Named after racehorse owner, George Nicholas Woodward, the Woodward Stakes is one of the most highly anticipated races in the United States since it was inaugurated in 1954.
Run for the purse of $750,000, this race also honours William Woodward, Sr., who was chairman of the Jockey Club from 1930 to 1950.
The grand event was first held at Aqueduct for several years, but then it was moved to Belmont. Since 2006, the mega event is held annually at Saratoga.
Over the course of time, the race has been run at several distances. In 1954, it started as a 1 mile race. From 1956-71, ’78-’80, ’88-‘89, it was run over a distance of 1 ¼ miles.
From 1972 to 1975, it ran over 1 ½ miles. From 1990 to date, the Woodward Stakes covers a distance of 1 1/8 miles.
Since the inception of this race, some interesting and fascinating records have been set. So far only two females, the Steven Asmussen trained, Rachel Alexandra and Larry Jones’s charge, Havre de Grace, have had the privilege of winning the race.
The former claimed the title in 2009 while the latter took it home two years later in 2011.
The Sherrill W. Ward and Frank Y. Whiteley, Jr. trained, Forego, has claimed this race four times, the highest time any participant.
He bagged this race consecutively from 1974 to 1977. Owned by Lazy F. Ranch, the runner has an overall record of 34-9-7 in 57 starts.
The record for most wins by a trainer is tied by Robert J. Frankel and J. Elliott Burch, each with four winners.
Frankel saddled Ghostzapper in 2004, Lido Palace in 2002, 2001, and Bertrando in 1993. Burch’s winners include Sword Dancer in 1959, 1960, Arts and Letters in 1969 and Key To The Mint in 1972.
Over the recent years, the Bill Mott trained, Cigar, won the Woodward Stakes in 1995 and 1996.
Todd Pletcher saddled Lawyer Ron in 2007 and Quality Road in 2010. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has a sole winner with River Keen in 1999, while Steven Asmussen won the race with Curlin in 2008 and Rachel Alexandra in 2009.
This year, the event will be hosted on 1st September, 2012, where Bill Mott holds an entry with Ron the Greek and Flat Out and Pletcher might run Stay Thirsty.
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