Bob Coglianese Photo

Recalling the Wood Memorial's rich past

by Brian Bohl

Prestigious stakes races in New York can often trace its history back decades - and in some cases centuries - in serving to link the present to the past. But the 95th running of the Grade 2, $750,0000 Wood Memorial presented by NYRA Bets on April 6 will look a lot different from the first edition in 1925.

The first change is obvious: location. Now run at Aqueduct Racetrack, the first Wood, and every subsequent one until 1959 when it closed, was contested at Jamaica Race Course. The inaugural running, won by Backbone, was contested for a purse totaling $7,600.

Even the race's name has changed since 1925. Named after Eugene D. Wood, one of Jamaica's founders as well as the president, the first two runnings were called the Wood Stakes before being changed to the Wood Memorial for the third running [Wood died in 1924].

But while other elements have changed, such as the initial distance of 1 mile and 70 yards to the present distance of 1 1/8 miles, the impact the race has made on horseplayers, analysts and fans has continued to be stronger as it approaches its 100th anniversary.

With a rich history on which to choose, the New York Racing Association reached out to a variety of experts with diverse backgrounds and asked them to list their top-three personal favorite Wood Memorials. The races selected, along with the supporting reasons, are as varied as the personalities, with a mixture of race quality, personal anecdotes, and wagering success highlighted in the excerpts below.

The experts sampled include NYRA analyst and host Andy Serling, NYRA track announcer and NBC race caller Larry Collmus, NYRA paddock analyst and host Maggie Wolfendale, NYRA analyst Ernie Munick and Jonathon Kinchen, the 2015 National Horseplayers Championship winner and co-host of the Money Players podcast.

The following list isn't a ranking of the best Wood Memorials of all-time. Bold Ruler's 1957 win under jockey Eddie Arcaro, which marked one of the Hall of Famer's record nine Wood victories, is not included, nor are other long-ago moments that deserve mention, such as Count Fleet's win in 1943 that preceded his magical run that saw him become just the sixth horse in history to win the Triple Crown.

But it does include notable moments, including Angle Light's 1973 win over Secretariat and Sham, and a selection of unforgettable Wood Memorial's from the last five decades.

Ernie Munick - Angle Light steals spotlight from Big Red in 1973:
"'Secretariat this, Secretariat that.' My dad was all about the future Triple Crown-winner who'd finished first 10 straight times. So, we went to Aqueduct for my first Wood Memorial - and "we" got Secretariat beat. Thank you and please come again."

Andy Serling - Bold Forbes wins in 1976:
"The first of many Wood Memorials that I attended in person, this one was with my grandmother, who went to the track with me many times over the years. Bold Forbes went on to upset heavily favored Honest Pleasure in the Kentucky Derby and remarkably stretched his speed to a win in the 12-furlong Belmont Stakes."

Maggie Wolfendale - Toby's Corner upsets 1-9 favorite Uncle Mo in 2011:
"An odd choice, but this was the Wood Memorial where there was as much hype as I had ever seen surrounding a horse in Uncle Mo. I only had my paddock analyst job for about six months, so I still had a bit to prove to people. I think I did so with my subtle criticism of Uncle Mo, stating that his 'physical presence wasn't nearly as impressive as his resume.' I did think Toby's Corner looked best that day, but that was easily forgotten."

Jonathon Kinchen - Eskendereya wins in 2010:
"This performance was spectacular! Five years later we saw those Zayat silks carried to Triple Crown glory [with American Pharoah]. At the time, I thought Eskendereya was going to be the one to end the Triple Crown drought. A classic Tom Durkin call made this one of my favorite Wood Memorials: 'Eskendereya will win it from here to Egypt.'"

Editor's note: This was the last race in Eskendereya's career, with a leg injury forcing his retirement.

Larry Collmus - Irish War Cry and Maragh's return in 2017:
"Since I came to NYRA, the Wood that was most memorable for me would be Irish War Cry's 2017 win. It was a feel-good story for a number of reasons. The most compelling was jockey Rajiv Maragh's comeback from a serious injury to win such a prestigious race and then go on to ride him in the Kentucky Derby. Irish War Cry is also a New Jersey-bred owned by two sisters [Isabella de Tomaso and Hope Haskell Jones] with an extensive racing history. Their father, Amory Haskell, was one of the founders of Monmouth Park. Having called 20 years at Monmouth, and still a New Jersey resident, that story meant a lot to me."

Serling - Gulch outkicks Gone West to win in 1987:
"Gulch ran down one of my all-time favorite horses, Gone West, in the shadow of the wire. A thrilling race between two superb racehorses. Gulch went on to run competitively in all three Triple Crown races, while also beating older horses [including the mighty Broad Brush] in the Met Mile between running in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. I can still remember watching this race on the second floor of the Big A."

Munick - Get your popcorn ready for Instrument Landing's win in 1979:
"We watched the 1979 Wood from the furthermost seats of the second-floor grandstand, front row. We were certain that our front-runner, Instrument Landing, had easily been run down by the late-charging Screen King, but our vantage point was misleading. The four-horse photo showed Instrument Landing's nose got there first, and at 7-1 odds. My dad bought me a popcorn machine with the profits."

The Wood Memorial, which offers 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers, is slated for an approximate post time of 6 p.m. ET and will be part of a live national broadcast on NBCSN from 5:30-7:30 p.m., scheduled to also include the Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby from Santa Anita Park.

Prior to the NBCSN broadcast, FOX Sports Saturday At The Races will air the major stakes, including the Grade 1 Carter, leading up to the Wood Memorial with national coverage on FS2 beginning at 4 p.m. and regional coverage in the tri-state area on MSG+ starting at 3 p.m.