OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Disco Time will put his unbeaten record on the line Saturday against the streaking pair of Tip Top Thomas and Stars and Stripes in an intriguing renewal of the $200,000 Dwyer Stakes, which could produce a significant player for the older male dirt division in 2026. The Dwyer, typically run in July, was moved to the fall and is the second of two 3-year-old stakes going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct. The Discovery, previously run at 1 1/8 miles in November, was run in October and won by Rated by Mertit, who is targeting the Grade 2 Cigar Mile on Dec. 6. Disco Time, a son of Not This Time trained by Brad Cox for Juddmonte, won his first three starts, including the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds in January, where he rallied from 10 lengths back in a 13-horse field. Cox was training the horse into February but didn’t like the way he was traveling, so the decision was made to stop on him. Disco Time didn’t return until September, when he won the St. Louis Derby at Fairmount Park in gate-to-wire fashion. He earned a gaudy 102 Beyer Speed Figure, significantly higher than the figures he had earned in his previous three starts. Cox said the speed Disco Time showed in the St. Louis Derby is more his style than the late rally in the Lecomte. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “I think the Lecomte was more being a good horse overcoming things that didn’t quite go his way. That wasn’t a real favorable trip on that racetrack, and he still got it done,” Cox said. “What he showed last time is probably a little bit more who he is. He is lightly raced, still trying to figure out what he’s best at, but I do think he’s got a good bit of speed. “Obviously, we think he’s a good horse. He’s certainly acted like one in the afternoons.” Florent Geroux rides Disco Time from post 2. Tip Top Thomas, second in the Grade 1 Champagne at 2, is on a three-race winning streak that began with an allowance win going a one-turn mile here in May. From there he won the Grade 3 Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis and the Smarty Jones at Parx Racing, both narrowly. Trainer Todd Pletcher opted against the Pennsylvania Derby at 1 1/8 miles and instead picked this spot. John Velazquez rides Tip Top Thomas from the rail. Pletcher also sends out Crudo, who won the Sir Barton Stakes at Pimlico in May but was a non-factor in the Belmont Stakes and Curlin Stakes. After two fourth-place finishes on turf, Crudo is back on dirt with blinkers on. Stars and Stripes, a son of Not This Time trained by Bill Mott, won back-to-back races at 1 1/8 miles in early summer but sustained an injury coming out of his first-level allowance win in July at Saratoga. “He grabbed himself and had a little muscle strain behind,” Mott said. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Mott said he’d prefer this race to be around two turns, but he’ll settle for the one-turn mile since it allows Stars and Stripes to make his stakes debut against 3-year-olds as opposed to older horses. Mott has been satisfied with the colt’s training, though he noted, “He’s not a brilliant work horse; does what he has to but that’s always been him.” Light Forever, a distant third in the Discovery, and Dream On, who has made his last 11 starts on turf, including a victory in the Penn Mile, complete the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.