NYRA Announces Return of Wood Memorial Purse Bonus
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand
The New York Racing Association announced Dec. 30 the return of a bonus program for potential starters in the $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack April 6 that could increase the total purse to $1 million.
As an incentive for the 1 1/8-mile Wood Memorial, a purse bonus of $250,000 will be given to any horse declared an official starter that has registered a grade/group 1 victory prior to running in the 95th edition of the Wood Memorial. Should a grade/group 1 winner become an official starter and trigger the increase, the Wood Memorial winner would earn $535,000, with the runner-up garnering $185,000 and third-place collecting $100,000.
As a race on the official Road to the Kentucky Derby series, the Wood Memorial is worth 100 qualifying points to the winner, 40 points to second, 20 to third, and 10 to fourth to earn a place in the starting gate of the 145th running of the $2 million Run for the Roses May 4.
The lucrative Wood Memorial card is bolstered by four additional graded stakes races: the $400,000 Carter Handicap (G1), the $300,000 Gazelle Stakes (G2), the $250,000 Bay Shore Stakes (G3), and the $150,000 Excelsior Stakes (G3).
The Wood Memorial is named in honor of Eugene D. Wood, a New York state politician and horse racing enthusiast who was a founder and past president of the old Jamaica Racetrack, where the race was run until 1960. Among past victors are such legends as Triple Crown champions Gallant Fox, Count Fleet, Assault, and Seattle Slew. Recent winners of the Wood Memorial include Vino Rosso in 2018, Irish War Cry in 2017, Outwork in 2016, and Frosted in 2015.