2025 Withers Stakes Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

The eyes of horse racing turn to New York on Saturday, February 1, with the $250,000 Withers Stakes, the next race on the New York Racing Association spur of the Kentucky Derby trail. Seven horses, based across the northeast and mid-Atlantic, will battle for a six-figure purse as well as 20-10-6-4-2 Road to the Kentucky Derby points for the top five finishers.

The Withers provides a stamina test rare for races this early in the Kentucky Derby trail. Most races at this stage are either a flat mile or 1 1/16 miles. However, Aqueduct has a one-turn mile and does not run 1 1/16-mile dirt races. Thus, this race happens over 1 ⅛ miles on the dirt track. The distance makes it a good early test of stamina for horses whose connections hope they can get a furlong more than that in May.

The field for the 2025 Withers is full of horses whose connections hope for a breakout effort. Most of the runners are lightly raced, and the only stakes winner in the field is Global Steve, winner of the Future Stars in December at Parx.

The long history of the Withers Stakes dates all the way back to 1874. The next year, Aristides, the first-ever Kentucky Derby winner, won the Withers Stakes as well. The Withers was run in May at Belmont until 2012, when it became one of the original Kentucky Derby points races. Winners in the points era who have gone on to do important things include Early Voting (2022), who went on to win the Preakness Stakes, Max Player (2020), who won the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) the next year, and Alpha (2012), who went on to win the Travers.

Withers Stakes 2025 Information

• Race Date: Saturday, February 1, 2025
• Track: Aqueduct
• Post Time: 3:46 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
• Distance: 1 ⅛ miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Withers Stakes Odds

These are the horses entered in the 2025 edition of the Withers, along with their trainers, jockeys, post positions, and morning-line odds. These morning-line odds can be a helpful guide to which horses are expected to take betting action and which horses feel hot or cold on the board. They aren’t always a reliable indicator of the exact price, so watch the tote board on race day, but feel free to use them as one of many ways to shed light on the race.

Withers Stakes Prep Results

Four of the seven runners come out of stakes company. None were graded, though two were Kentucky Derby preps. Mo Quality was second behind Coal Battle in the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn, while Omaha Omaha was second to Cyclone State in the Jerome. Global Steve, the only stakes winner in the field, did so last out in the Future Stars, a dirt sprint at Parx. Surfside Moon was last seen finishing sixth in the Awad on October 19, a route on the Aqueduct lawn.

Two others come out of allowance races going a mile on the dirt at Aqueduct. Uncle Jim was third in an open first-level allowance on December 6. Corvus finished second in a first-level New York-bred race on January 2.

Captain Cook is the only horse in the field who will face winners for the first time. He comes into the Withers off of a dominant victory in a seven-furlong sprint at Aqueduct on December 28, winning at second asking.

Withers Stakes Contenders

These are the contenders in the 2025 Withers, organized by post position:

1. Global Steve: He cedes experience to the rest of the field, but in two starts, he hasn’t laid a hoof wrong. He was a little further back early in his second start than his first, but both times, he made a move in time to blow by and open up in the lane. Both of those races were seven furlongs at Parx, though, meaning he is going to have to prove that he can get two turns and that he can do so in New York. Two turns isn’t out of the question, as the underside of the pedigree appeals and even sire Bucchero has two-turn form that many people forget. But, don’t take too short a price on a Parx horse coming to New York.
2. Surfside Moon: His only win came at two turns on the grass at Laurel, though he does have a close third in maiden company in the mud. This pair of two-turn races could help, given the distance of this race, and the pedigree is a positive for the stretch out to two turns. However, he needs to improve from a speed perspective, and the barn tends to underperform in stakes company.
3. Corvus: With six starts, he has a lot of experience, but most of that has come against New York-breds, and he was no match in his two starts against open company. To be fair, he does have some excuse for that two-back fourth in a first-level allowance, as it was his first start off a freshening and he started slowly. But, he doesn’t have a lot of early speed to begin with and will not have a lot to close into.
4. Uncle Jim: He looked like an up-and-comer, winning on debut at Keeneland despite some traffic. However, he flattened out late in a one-mile allowance next out at Aqueduct, though at least it graded out pretty well when winner Cyclone State came back to win the Jerome. He’ll have to prove that he can finish the job from close to the pace, something he didn’t do last out, but at least he can still move forward and his pedigree does bode well for the stretch to 1 ⅛ miles.
5. Mo Quality: One of the few with Kentucky Derby trail experience, Mo Quality chased home for second behind the talented Coal Battle in the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn last out. It was a decent try, but not quite the breakout effort some hoped to see between his good sprint efforts and his two-turn pedigree. Perhaps he just needed the race, and he’ll show up with a stronger effort this time around, but don’t take too short a price.
6. Captain Cook: In a race without a lot of speed, this one looks like the one who can take advantage. Toss the debut: he had a troubled start, and a debut can be forgiven. Second out, he prompted the pace and drew off to win by 9 ¼ lengths over the local course. That was seven furlongs on the slop, meaning he has to move forward at this longer distance and on a fast track. But, if he shows speed again, he could be able to set the tempo and keep going, and he is from a nice Marylou Whitney family, that of Birdstone and Bird Town.
7. Omaha Omaha: The field may be a little short on two-turn experience in general, but Omaha Omaha has plenty of it. He was second at the one-turn mile last out, but his previous four starts all came at two-turn trips, and he broke his maiden and cleared his N1X over two-turn trips. He should have no trouble with the extra half-furlong, either. The question is the running style, because he is a closer in a race without a ton of speed. But, he won that maiden win in late-running style despite a pedestrian pace, meaning he may just be a fast horse who keeps running.

Withers Stakes Past Winners Past Performances

Even though it is a Kentucky Derby prep race, a horse does not have to come out of a stakes race to win the Withers. Last-out maiden winners have been particularly solid in recent editions of the Withers: Far From Over (2015), Max Player (2020), Risk Taking (2021), and Early Voting (2022) all went from maiden wins to Withers wins. Three of those runners graduated at Aqueduct; Max Player was the only one who graduated elsewhere, as he earned his diploma at Parx. One other winner in the last ten years came out of a non-stakes win: Hit Show (2025) had most recently won an allowance race at Oaklawn Park.

The other recent winners came out of stakes races. Though no Withers winner in the last ten years was a last-out winner of the Remsen (G2), Avery Island (2018) was 2nd in the Remsen, and Tax (2019) was third. The Remsen is run over the same course and distance as the Withers. Sunny Ridge (2016) had been second in the Delta Jackpot (G3), El Areeb (2017) came out of a victory in the Jerome (G3), and Uncle Heavy (2024) won the Wait For It at Parx.

Withers Stakes Card

The Withers Stakes is part of a nine-race card Saturday at Aqueduct. The card features two other stakes races: the Ruthless for sophomore sprinting fillies and the Toboggan for older horses. Both of those races cover seven furlongs on the dirt.

Saturday is a huge day of racing across the country. In addition to Aqueduct, two other tracks host Kentucky Derby points races as well. The Holy Bull (G3) anchors the Gulfstream card, while Santa Anita hosts the Robert B. Lewis (G3). Make sure to watch FanDuel TV all day for racing and analysis, and place your bets at FanDuel.

Aqueduct History

Aqueduct is New York’s winter and spring destination for horse racing, and typically runs from November through April. The track opened in 1894, getting its name from the fact that it shared a property with a conduit that delivered water to New York City. One of many tracks around New York City at the time, it has managed to stand the test of time while other courses like Gravesend and Sheepshead Bay did not survive. Its flagship races include the Carter (G1), the Cigar Mile (G1), and the Wood Memorial (G1).

Its current layout features three tracks: a 1 ⅛-mile dirt track with a mile chute, a one-mile outer turf course, and an inner turf course of about seven furlongs. The inner track was previously a second dirt course, but in 2017, Aqueduct winterized the outer dirt course and converted the inner track to grass. Through the mid-2020s Aqueduct is also hosting most of Belmont’s racing, as the New York Racing Association is renovating that track until 2026.

Withers Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Withers Stakes?

A: The 2025 Withers happens Saturday, February 1 at 3:46 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It is carded as the seventh of nine races on the card.

Q: Where is the Withers Stakes?

A: It takes place at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York City.

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

A: James G. Rowe, Sr. holds the record for the most wins in the Withers with five, though all of those came between 1883 and 1909. The greatest among his winners was Colin (1908), a Hall of Fame inductee who finished his career undefeated in 15 starts. Out of the trainers running horses in 2025, Butch Reid leads with two winners. He won in 2010 with Afleet again and in 2024 with Uncle Heavy, and can make it three if Global Steve wins.

Q: Who is the favorite for the 2025 Withers?

A: Off an impressive maiden victory, Captain Cook is the 5-2 morning-line favorite for trainer Rick Dutrow and jockey Manny Franco. However, keep an eye on anyone else who takes money, given that no horse looms heavily on paper: Mo Quality, Uncle Jim, Omaha Omaha, or even Global Steve could plausibly challenge for favoritism depending on how the bettors swing on race day.

Q: Who is the best Withers Stakes jockey?

A: The great Eddie Arcaro has the most Withers wins, with six, between 1940 and 1955. His greatest winner was Hill Prince (1950), who won the Preakness en route to Horse of the Year honors that year. Among jockeys entered in the 2025 edition, Manuel Franco leads with two wins, with Far From Over (2015), Sunny Ridge (2016), and Hit Show (2023). He returns in 2025 with Captain Cook.

Q: Who won the 2024 Withers Stakes?

A: Uncle Heavy won the 2024 Withers Stakes for trainer Butch Reid and jockey Mychel Sanchez. Reid and Sanchez return in 2025 with Global Steve.

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