Oak Grove: Road to the 2027 Trotting Derby, Trotting Oaks has begun

The Road to the 2027 $500,000 Oak Grove Trotting Derby and $300,000 Oak Grove Trotting Oaks is officially underway. The first two "Win and You're In" automatic qualifying races were contested on Hambletonian Day at the Meadowlands, where Lifetime Dreamer captured the New Jersey Sire Stakes Championship for 2-year-old trotting males and Wall of Fame secured victory in the filly division. Action continues this weekend at Woodbine Mohawk Raceway, featuring the Grade 1 William Wellwood and Peaceful Way.

The "Road to..." series was established to reward top 2-year-old trotting performances and enrich Oak Grove's premier events. A series of designated Grand Circuit and Sire Stakes races serve as automatic qualifying events to the Derby and Oaks eliminations.

The kickoff of the Road to the 2027 Oak Grove Trotting Derby and Oaks comes on the heels of an exceptionally successful inaugural year where Spencer Hanover was crowned champion of the Derby and Jailbird Jog was victorious in the Oaks. Established as the premier kickoff to the elite trotting season and the richest preps for the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks, the 2026 events featured 101 nominations and 46 elimination entries participating. Thirteen graduates of the Oak Grove Derby and Oaks competed in the Hambletonian eliminations, with four securing spots in the Hambletonian final and three reaching the Hambletonian Oaks final - representing over one-third of the championship fields.

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Wagering and purses, the two driving forces of the sport, ignited the excitement around the five race card 2026 Festival of Racing. Bettors wagered in excess of $2.5 million, anchored by a track-record single-day handle of $873,181 on Derby and Oaks Eliminations Monday. The 2026 Festival of Racing featured over $2.75M in purses with $1.5M in purses awarded on Oak Grove Derby Day.

The 2027 Festival of Racing will kick off on Monday, May 3 following Kentucky Derby weekend with an anticipated record number of horses racing in the eliminations. For 2027, 559 2-year-old trotters (277 colts and 282 fillies) have nominated into the events. 2027 Oak Grove Derby Day is scheduled for Saturday, May 15.

--press release (Oak Grove)--