OZONE PARK, N.Y. – In a span of 11 weeks, between Aqueduct, Gulfstream Park, and Tampa Bay Downs, trainer Chad Brown sent out eight debut winners. The run has included such impressive 3-year-old colts as Iron Honor, Canaletto and Emerging Market. All have stakes engagements in their futures starting with Iron Honor, who was one of nine 3-year-olds entered Sunday for Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. While, yes, the Gotham does offer its top five finishers qualifying points (50-25-15-10-5) to the May 2 Kentucky Derby, it's also true that the Gotham hasn’t produced a Kentucky Derby winner since Secretariat in 1973. Though nine were entered in the Gotham, trainer Joe Sharp said Monday that Creole Chrome would scratch as he will stay at Fair Grounds and run in a Louisiana-bred stakes on Saturday. The Gotham, a one-turn mile, is a logical progression for Iron Honor, who surprised Brown in that he was able to win a six-furlong maiden race on Dec. 13. Iron Honor, a son of Nyquist, beat two next-out winners – Crossingthechannel and Right to Party, the latter also in the Gotham – while earning a 95 Beyer Speed Figure. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2026: Top contenders, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more “I’m not surprised that he ran a good number and I’m not surprised that he’s a promising prospect because his last two works before I debuted him were very good,” Brown said. “But I am surprised he was able to get it done at six because he’s always had the look of a horse that needed the minimum of a mile.” Following his win at Aqueduct, Brown said Iron Honor was a little body sore and it took him some time to get over the race, which may explain why it’s taken 11 weeks for him to make it back to the races. “The last few weeks he’s started to move well again, his works have been consistent,” Brown said. Meanwhile, Brown said Canaletto, a debut winner at Gulfstream on Jan. 25, will be pointed to the Tampa Bay Derby while Emerging Market, a debut winner at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 7, is a candidate for the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds on March 21. Iron Honor drew post 6 and will be ridden by Manny Franco in a Gotham field that has combined to win five stakes, two of them being by Crown the Buckeye, who won a pair of Ohio-bred stakes. Balboa, trained by Brittany Russell, returns to New York for his third straight stakes attempt. He was third behind Paladin and Renegade – two next-out stakes winners from the Grade 2 Remsen – before finishing second in the Jerome, a one-turn mile here on Jan. 3. Balboa will break from the rail under Sheldon Russell. Outside of him, in post order and with rider, are Hammond (Jaime Rodriguez), Crown the Buckeye (Ricardo Santana Jr.), Fourth and One (Jose Lezcano), Right to Party (Reylu Guttierez), Iron Honor (Franco), Exhibition Only (Ruben Silvera), and Dirty Rich (Ramon Vazquez). The Gotham will go as the finale on a 10-race card that includes three other stakes, which were also drawn on Sunday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.