Wood Memorial Stakes: 2026 Results and Racecard Guide

The Wood Memorial Stakes is a Grade 2 Kentucky Derby prep for three-year-olds, run over 1⅛ miles—nine furlongs—on dirt. Albus won the April 4, 2026 edition at Aqueduct by 1¼ lengths in 1:51.71, ridden by Jaime Torres for trainer Riley Mott and owner Pin Oak Stud. Equibase’s official chart records 12 starters and a fast track.

As of October 6, 2026, the next running is scheduled for April 3, 2027 at Belmont Park, according to the Kentucky Derby’s race page. Churchill Downs’ 2026–27 qualifying-series announcement also places the Wood at Belmont. Keep the venue attached to the year when comparing past form.

2026 Wood Memorial results

The $750,000 race awarded Kentucky Derby qualifying points to its first five finishers:

Sources: official finishing order and riders; NYRA’s 2026 points allocation.

The remaining finishers, in order, were Courting, Iron Honor, Talk to Me Jimmy, Steel, Minorinconvenience, Buetane and Red Zone Runner. Ottinho was scratched. Right to Party finished a nose ahead of Ocelli; Albus’s 1¼-length winning margin was his advantage over the runner-up. Official chart

Three numbers that mean different things

A Wood Memorial form line can bring together weight, a speed figure and qualifying points. They are not interchangeable measures.

• 123 lb was the carried weight. Every starter in the 2026 chart carried 123 pounds, equivalent to 8 st 11 lb. There was no weight difference between runners to explain the finishing order.
• 83 was Albus’s reported Beyer Speed Figure. NYRA reported that figure for his winning performance. It is not a carried weight or a British-style official handicap mark.
• 100 was his Derby points award. It came from finishing first under the race’s qualifying schedule, not from running a particular time or earning a particular speed figure.

The weights appear in the Equibase chart; the figure and points award appear in NYRA’s post-race report. When reading a card, identify the column before interpreting the number. Our speed-figure provider comparison explains why the provider’s name matters too.

What the time and running line tell you

1:51.71 means 111.71 seconds, but it is not the only clock in the result. Equibase separately records 1:54.74 as “Time from Gate” and an 80-foot run-up. Use the listed final time when quoting the race result; do not mix the two timing measures in a comparison. Official timing record

The run-up is the distance from the starting gate to the point where race timing begins. It is therefore important context when comparing recorded times. Equibase’s past-performance guide

Likewise, “fast” is the recorded condition of the dirt surface—not a statement that the winning time was exceptional. Andrew Beyer has explained that two tracks both labelled fast can still differ substantially in inherent speed. Beyer Speed Figures adjust race times for that track speed rather than simply ranking raw times.

The running line adds another layer. Albus was eighth at the half-mile and three-quarter-mile calls before winning. Right to Party was eleventh at the half-mile and finished second. Those positions describe how the race unfolded; they do not prove either horse would reproduce the same finish under a different pace. Chart and trip notes

Distance alone is also incomplete context. NYRA described the 2026 Wood as a two-turn nine-furlong race, contrasting it with the one-turn mile Gotham from which Right to Party arrived. A previous Aqueduct run therefore need not represent the same course configuration. NYRA’s post-race analysis

Historical status is context, not a forecast

First run in 1925 and named for Jamaica Race Course president Eugene D. Wood, the race moved to Aqueduct in 1960. Its history includes Seattle Slew’s 1977 victory—and Secretariat’s third-place defeat in 1973 before his Triple Crown sweep. Kentucky Derby race history

For racecard purposes, “Wood Memorial winner” records an achievement. Assessing its relevance to another race still requires the distance, surface, carried weight, performance figure and trip—not just the race’s famous name.