OZONE PARK, N.Y. – There’s nothing like New York in spring time, especially if you’re trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and running horses in stakes races at Aqueduct. It was just a year ago, Lord Miles, with one win from four previous starts to his credit, upset the Wood Memorial at 59-1, the third longest shot in a field of 12. In 2022, Joseph ran third and fourth in the Wood with Skippylongstocking and A. P.’s Secret, sent off at odds of 17-1 and 49-1, respectively. In 2019, Math Wizard finished fourth at 64-1, the longest price on the board. In 2021, Joseph didn’t have a starter in the Wood, but on the undercard he won the then-Grade 1 Carter with Mischevious Alex and the Grade 3 Bay Shore with Drain the Clock. “Aqueduct in April has been very good to us,” Joseph said Sunday at Gulfstream Park. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2024: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Joseph will be back at Aqueduct again for Saturday’s Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial where he’ll send out Merit, who figures to be a longshot in an expected field of 13 runners seeking qualifying points for the May 4 Kentucky Derby. Joseph had been thinking of sending a second horse for the Wood, but said Sunday afternoon that Dilger will bypass the Wood and wait for the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 13. Merit, like Joseph’s previous Wood starters, has a light résumé. He won a seven-furlong maiden race by 10 lengths at Gulfstream on Nov. 4. After getting sick and missing some time, he finished third behind Real Macho and Born Noble in a one-mile allowance on Feb. 3. Sent around two turns for the first time on March 1, Merit finished second, six lengths behind Conquest Warrior, who came back to finish a well-beaten fourth in Saturday’s Florida Derby. Joseph was expecting a little bit more from Merit in the March 1 race. “I thought he would move forward quite a bit going longer and being fitter for the race, instead he was a well-beaten second, but well-beaten by a horse that seems like a good horse,” Joseph said. “We made the lead last time because that’s how the race looked on paper, there was no speed, but we still set honest fractions. If we could let him relax a bit, that’s what we’re trying to work on, being a bit more patient.” The Wood, which offers 200 qualifying points (100-50-25-15-10) to its top five finishers toward the Kentucky Derby, is expected to draw at least 13 horses when entries close and post positions are assigned on Wednesday. Over the weekend, it appeared the race could overfill, but now it looks like that won’t happen. Deterministic, the Grade 3 Gotham winner, and Uncle Heavy, the Grade 3 Withers winner, are the only two graded stakes winners in the field. Others expected for the race include Deposition, El Grande O, Elysian Meadows, Evening News, Gettysburg Address, Lonesome Boy, Protective, Resilience, Society Man, and Tuscan Sky. Trainer Todd Pletcher said Monday that he would likely run just Tuscan Sky and the maiden Protective. Be You is being sent to the Blue Grass at Keeneland and no race has been confirmed yet for Bail Us Out, who was scratched from Saturday’s Grade 1 Florida Derby. Due to uncertainty whether either of his horses would make it into the Wood field, trainer Chad Brown shipped Top Conor and Good Money to Kentucky for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Blue Grass Stakes. The Wood Memorial will go as race 10 on an 11-race card that begins at 11:30 a.m. Post time for the Wood is 4:07 p.m. Here are the prospective fields for the four other stakes on the card: ◗ The $300,000 Carter, which will be run as a Grade 2 and under allowance conditions after being run as a Grade 1 handicap for years, is expected to draw Anejo, Petulante, Post Time, Super Chow, and Whittington Park. Coastal Mission is possible. ◗ The Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle is for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles and spreads 200 qualifying points to its top five finishers for the May 3 Kentucky Oaks. It is expected to attract Barbratina, Carmelina, Ghalia Princess, Gin Gin, Life Talk, Regulatory Risk, and Whocouldaskformo. ◗ The Grade 3, $175,000 Distaff Stakes, a one-mile race for older females at seven furlongs was expected to draw Ain’t Broke, Apple Picker, Fingal’s Cave, Hot Fudge, and maybe Royal Poppy. ◗ The $150,000 Bay Shore, a seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds is expected to include Classic Joke, Eliminate, Maximus Meridius, Mission Beach, Proprietary Trade, Ridgewood Runner, and Yo Yo Candy. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.