2025 Gotham Stakes Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

The New York spur of the Kentucky Derby trail intensifies Saturday, March 1, with the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. The one-mile, $300,000 race drew a field of 10, and in addition to the purse, 50-25-15-10-5 Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points go to the top five finishers. This means the winner is virtually guaranteed a place in the Kentucky Derby starting gate, and others who run well will be in a good position with a good run in one or two other preps.

The race features horses shooting for a breakout effort: only Calling Card has tried graded-stakes company before. The only stakes winners have done so in restricted company: Sacrosanct and Sand Devil have won New York-bred stakes, and Scorching has a pair of stakes wins against Canada-breds. With such an untested field, the race should be an excellent place to look for live prices.

Stars who have won the Gotham include breed-shaping sire Native Dancer (1953), dirt mile world record holder Dr. Fager (1967), Triple Crown winner Secretariat (1973), and Belmont winner Easy Goer (1989). The most recent Gotham winner to go on and win a Triple Crown race was Red Bullet (2000), who went on to upset the Preakness.

Gotham Stakes 2025 Information

• Race Date: Saturday, March 1, 2025
• Track: Aqueduct Racetrack
• Post Time: 4:18 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
• Distance: one mile
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV, Fox Sports 2
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Gotham Stakes Odds

This is the field for the 2025 Gotham Stakes, including post positions, trainers, jockey assignments and morning-line odds:

Gotham Stakes Prep Results

All 10 entrants come out of different races, and none of the runners come out of the Withers Stakes, the previous points race at Aqueduct. In fact, the only horse coming out of a Kentucky Derby qualifying points race (or a graded-stakes race at all) is Calling Card, who most recently finished eighth in the Lecomte (G3) at Fair Grounds.

Three others come out of restricted stakes wins. Sand Devil comes out of a victory against New York-breds in the Damon Runyon, while Sacrosanct most recently beat New York-sired company in a New York Stallion Series race. Scorching missed by a nose in the Cup and Saucer at Woodbine on Oct. 6, but was placed first after Ashley’s Archer was disqualified for interfering with a different horse in the race.

Three horses come out of allowance races. Normandy Coast won a six-furlong sprint at Fair Grounds for conventional first-level allowance horses. My Mitole won a starter-optional claiming mile at Aqueduct on February 14; he qualified under the starter condition because he broke his maiden in an auction price-restricted maiden special weight. McAfee also comes out of an auction-restricted starter-allowance mile at Churchill Downs; he was second behind Optical in that November 24 race.

The other three entrants come out of maiden special weight company. Garamond won his debut January 25 going 6 ½ furlongs on the Tampa Bay Downs dirt, while Pagode graduated on debut in a 6 ½-furlong race on the Turfway Park Tapeta on the same day. Flood Zone made it to the winner’s circle at second asking, beating Florida-breds in a 6 ½-furlong dirt sprint at Gulfstream on January 4.

Gotham Stakes Contenders

These are the contenders in the Gotham Stakes, organized by post position:

1. Scorching: This son of Mo Town has some experience with fields of this size from his races in Canada, which is a plus. He should also do well at the one-turn mile; he just missed (before being elevated to first after an unrelated disqualification) in a two-turn race last December, but looked great winning the Simcoe at an extended one-turn trip last year. However, the rail draw could lead to trip trouble, he may need the start off the layoff, and he has never yet tried the dirt. In short, there’s potential (especially for exotics) but demand a price.
2. Normandy Coast: In terms of speed figures, he needs to continue improving. However, he has shown some positive signs. He has won from both on the pace and just off it. He is a winner at seven furlongs, which bodes well for his ability to handle the one-turn mile. And, he seemed to pick up where he left off when winning an open allowance race in January at Fair Grounds, his first race since the summer at Ellis.
3. Calling Card: The picture is muddled here. On one hand, he looked great when blowing New York-bred maidens out of the water over this course and distance back in November. A return to the one-turn mile at Aqueduct can help. However, class may be a question, as he was never a threat in either an allowance at Oaklawn or the Lecomte at Fair Grounds. Even so, this is a softer prep than the Lecomte, and the cut back from two turns to one could be just the ticket for this son of Complexity, a sire whose progeny have liked one turn more than two so far.
4. Sacrosanct: This Brad Cox trainee is four-for-four, but has yet to face foes bred anywhere but New York before taking this step onto the Kentucky Derby trail. He doesn’t need an unreasonable step forward to compete in a race of this quality, however, and he has shown the ability to either set the pace or press it. He is also well proven at an extended one-turn trip at Aqueduct, with three of his four wins coming at either seven furlongs or the mile over this local strip.
5. Sand Devil: Undefeated in three starts, this Linda Rice trainee has dispatched with New York-bred company in every start, each time in fast fashion. He had been able to win easily or in a tight fight, and the extended one-turn trip over the Aqueduct racetrack has treated him well. There is also price potential: though Rice wins a lot in New York, she may slip under the radar against more national names like Brad Cox or Chad Brown. In short, he appeals strongly in this first step onto the Kentucky Derby trail.
6. Pagode: He debuted on January 25 in a maiden sprint at Turfway, getting up to win by a nose despite being on the wrong lead. There were positives, including an ability to handle an extended one-turn distance as well as an ability to pass horses. The mile should be easily within his abilities, though he will have to prove himself against winners for the first time over a surface he may or may not be able to handle.
7. Flood Zone: Both of his races so far are solid sprint tries on the dirt at Gulfstream, and he showed some pace versatility, passing foes after a wide trip two back while attending close to the pace when he won. Now he faces open company for the first time, as well as trying a course other than Gulfstream for the first time. Trainer Brad Cox—who got him after a private purchase after his maiden win—does well stretching horses out, however, and the one-turn mile should suit this son of Frosted perfectly.
8. McAfee: A half-brother to Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna, McAfee makes his first start since a near miss at Churchill Downs in November. His debut victory is a positive sign for him to fire fresh, and he has run well from both a stalking spot as well as a closing trip. However, watch the price: he needs to take a step forward from his two races so far to be a win candidate, and his close relation to a superstar means he has been enough of a buzz horse to possibly affect the price.
9. Garamond: He may need some time to get his mind right, given his behavior before the race he won at Tampa last month. However, that was his debut, and he made it to the winners’ circle anyway. Trainer Chad Brown tends to move horses forward when stretching out in distance. He showed tactical speed on debut, and he is bred top and bottom for more distance than that 6 ½-furlong debut. Price may be a question given how Brown gets bet, but he does have upside.
10. My Mitole: He was beaten in his first two starts, but a drop to an optional-claiming maiden (open to either $50,000 claimers or horses who sold for that price or less at auction) got him off the mark in his first one-turn mile try, and then he won a starter-optional mile last out. He was protected in both spots under the auction condition, though now he steps up to open company for the first time. He is staying over a course and distance at which he is well proven, though the class move is significant and the barn disappoints in graded races.

Gotham Stakes Past Winners Past Performances

Four of the last ten winners of the Gotham have come out of stakes races at Aqueduct, though not all have been Kentucky Derby preps. No Withers winner has won the Gotham in the last ten years, though El Kabeir (2015) was most recently second in that race, and J Boys Echo (2018) was third. More recently, it has been another stakes that has supplied Gotham winners: Haikal (2019) and Morello (2023) both came out of wins in the Jimmy Winkfield, a sprint stakes at Aqueduct.

Two other recent winners of this race came out of stakes at Gulfstream. Mischevious Alex (2020) won the Swale (G3) in his start before the Gotham, while Enticed (2018) was fourth in the Holy Bull (G2). Another recent winner, Raise Cain (2023), came from a fifth-place try in the Leonatus at Turfway.

Three of the last ten Gotham winners came out of non-stakes races. Shagaf (2016) came out of an allowance win at Gulfstream and made his stakes debut in the Gotham. Weyburn (2021) came out of a maiden special weight win at Aqueduct and won his first try against winners in this race, and Deterministic (2024) won it in his first start since a debut maiden win at Saratoga the previous August.

Gotham Stakes Undercard

The Gotham Stakes is scheduled as the eighth of ten races at Aqueduct on Saturday. One of the bigger days on the winter stakes schedule at Aqueduct, there are three other added-money events in addition to the Gotham. Kentucky Oaks prospects will contest the $200,000 Busher Stakes, older dirt sprinters contest the $175,000 Tom Fool (G3), and older milers line up for the $150,000 Stymie.

With all this action at Aqueduct, and Kentucky Derby preps this weekend at Gulfstream and Santa Anita as well, it is a great weekend to watch on FanDuel TV and wager online at FanDuel!

About Aqueduct

An oldie, but a goodie, Aqueduct (familiarly called the Big A) opened up in 1894 in Queens, New York. The track was closed in 1956 for renovations, with an updated version opening in 1959. The only racetrack within the New York City limits, it has been updated several times since then. In 1975, they laid an inner track, and in 2017, the inner dirt track was replaced with a second turf course.

Aqueduct has been the site of many moments in racing history. In the 1944 running of the Carter, fans witnessed the first—and still only—triple dead heat in a stakes race when Brownie, Bossuet, and Wait a Bit crossed the wire at the same time. Between 1963 and 1967, Aqueduct hosted the Belmont Stakes as Belmont was being renovated. In 1973, Secretariat’s retirement ceremony happened at Aqueduct.

In 2013, Aqueduct embraced its position as a true city track by inviting street artists to paint murals in the grandstand of Aqueduct. An exciting overlap of classic racing scenes and modern style, the murals help make Aqueduct a fascinating, unique destination to enjoy a day of horse racing.

Gotham Stakes FAQ

Q: When and where is the Gotham Stakes?

A: The 2025 Gotham Stakes happens Saturday, March 1, at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Post is scheduled for 4:18 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and it is the eighth of ten races on the card.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Gotham Stakes?

A: Two trainers have three wins in the Gotham Stakes: Kiaran McLaughlin and Shug McGaughey. McGaughey is still actively training, though he does not have an entrant in this year’s edition. Three of the trainers with horses running in 2025 have won it before. Chad Brown (Garamond) won in 2016 with Shagaf, Rick Dutrow (McAfee) won in 1996 with Romano Gucci, and Mike Maker (Calling Card) won in 2012 with Hansen.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Gotham Stakes?

A: The undefeated Sand Devil has been named the 9-5 morning-line favorite off of three quality wins against New York-breds for trainer Linda Rice. However, watch for action on the also-undefeated New York-bred Sacrosanct (3-1). There is also a good chance Garamond will take some action; he is 8-1 on the morning line, but Chad Brown often gets bet heavily, and his maiden win at Tampa showed promise.

Q: Who is the best Gotham Stakes jockey?

A: Seven different jockeys have won three editions of the Gotham: Jorge Velasquez, Angel Cordero, Jr., Jacinto Vasquez, Richard Migliore, Ramon Dominguez, Mike Smith, and Jose Lezcano. Lezcano can take the record for himself if Sand Devil wins.

Q: Who won the 2024 Gotham Stakes?

A: Deterministic won the 2024 Gotham Stakes for trainer Christophe Clement and jockey Joel Rosario. Neither returns to the race this year.

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