NYRA releases stakes schedule for 2026 Aqueduct spring meet
The New York Racing Association announced Thursday the stakes schedule for the 2026 spring meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, featuring 12 stakes worth more than $2.6 million in total purses.
Stakes action at the 15-day meet, which spans Thursday, April 2, to Sunday, April 26, begins with the Wood Memorial Day card on Saturday, April 4. The card features six stakes topped by the 101st running of the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial. The nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds offers 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers.
Wood Memorial Day also features the Carter (G2) at seven furlongs for older horses and the Gazelle (G3) at nine furlongs for 3-year-old fillies offering 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-five finishers. Completing the day's stakes action are the Distaff (G3), a $150,000 seven-furlong contest for older fillies and mares; the listed $150,000 Excelsior at 10 furlongs for older horses; and the listed $150,000 Plenty of Grace at one mile on turf for older fillies and mares.
Stakes action continues Saturday, April 11, with a pair of $200,000 New York Stallion Stakes Series events at 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track – the Mind Your Biscuits (previously the Times Square) for eligible state-sired 3-year-olds and the Fourstar Crook (previously the Park Avenue) for eligible state-sired sophomore fillies.
The renamed stakes honor two of the highest-earning state-sired horses of each sex, with Mind Your Biscuits banking in excess of $4.2 million and Fourstar Crook earning more than $1.6 million.
The listed $150,000 Bay Shore, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds, runs Saturday, April 18, followed by the state-bred $135,000 Biogio's Rose at one mile for older fillies and mares on Sunday, April 19.
Rounding out the spring meet stakes schedule are a pair of $150,000 turf stakes at one mile with the Woodhaven for 3-year-olds on Saturday, April 25, and the listed Memories of Silver for 3-year-old fillies on Sunday, April 26.