Wood Memorial card highlight of spring Aqueduct meet

The Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial headlines an Aqueduct spring stakes schedule that will offer 12 stakes worth $2.8 million during the 15-day meet that runs April 3-27, the New York Racing Association announced Thursday.

The Wood is the last of four stakes for 3-year-olds run at Aqueduct during the first quarter of 2025 that offer qualifying points to the May 3 Kentucky Derby. The winter program includes the Jerome, Withers, and Gotham, offered the first Saturday in January, February, and March, respectively.

The Wood tops an April 5 card that includes the Grade 2, $300,000 Carter, the Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle -- a points-scoring race for the May 2 Kentucky Oaks -- and the Grade 3, $175,000 Distaff. Additionally, the $150,000 Excelsior, a race for older males on dirt which had been run during the winter meet, was moved to the April 5 card. The Excelsior has been lengthened from 1 1/8 miles to 1 1/4 miles, a distance at which it had been run from 1979-1993 and 2015-17.

The $150,000 Bay Shore, a listed seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds, has been moved from the Wood Day program to April 19.

The Haynesfield and Biogio’s Rose, one-mile stakes for older New York-bred males and females, respectively, have been moved from the winter meet to the spring. Both are scheduled for April 6 and both races had their purses increased by $25,000 to $125,000.

Two $150,000 turf stakes -- the Danger’s Hour for older males and Plenty of Grace for older females -- have been dropped from the schedule.

The $125,000 Woodhaven, for 3-year-old males, and the $150,000 Memories of Silver, for 3-year-old fillies, remain on the schedule and will be run April 26 and 27, respectively.

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