2026 Withers Stakes Betting and Contenders Preview

Key Takeaways

• The Withers Stakes is a demanding 1 ⅛-mile test early in the season, often rewarding lightly raced runners stepping forward rather than proven stakes horses. As a Kentucky Derby prep race, it offers the winner 20-10-6-4-2 qualification points.
• Pace looks contentious in this seven-horse field, with several speed types signed on, increasing the importance of stamina and the ability to handle pressure.
• Ottinho is the only proven 1 ⅛-mile winner in the field, has pedigree to relish the distance, and showed grit when winning over course and trip last out.
• Mailata brings the only open-stakes win in the race, has already shown he can sit just off the pace, and comes from a barn with multiple Withers wins.
• Fourth and One offers upside stretching out, has tactical speed from a favorable post, and represents a barn that excels with fresh horses in ungraded stakes.

The New York series of Kentucky Derby points races was slated to continue last weekend, but frigid weather forced Aqueduct to push its weekend racing—including the $250,000 Withers Stakes—out into early February. But, never fear: the 1 ⅛-mile race, which offers 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby qualification points, returns to the calendar Friday, February 6. The race is one of the best tests of stamina this early in the season, and seven horses line up to compete.

Most of the Withers field seeks their first win at the stakes level, and all of them look for their first win on the Triple Crown trail. The only one who has won a stakes race so far is Mailata, who romped in the Future Stars at Parx on December 30. However, this is a larger and more challenging field, and there is room for any of these young, lightly-raced runners to step forward.

The history of the Withers Stakes is a long one, dating 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 historically run in May at Belmont Park, but was rescheduled in 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, Alpha (2012), who went on to win the Travers, and Hit Show (2023), who went on to win the Dubai World Cup (G1).

Withers Stakes 2026 Information

• Race Date: Friday, February 6, 2026
• Track: Aqueduct
• Post Time: 4:20 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

This is the field for the 2026 Withers Stakes, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Withers Stakes Prep Results

The seven horses coming into the Withers each come out of different races.

Two runners come out of stakes races. The only one last seen in a graded-stakes race is also the only maiden in the field: Grittiness, who was last seen finishing a well-beaten fifth behind Paladin in the Remsen (G2) on December 6 over the same course and distance as the Withers. Mailata most recently blew away a pair of other horses by 19 lengths in the Parx Future Stars, a seven-furlong sprint on December 30.

One other entrant comes out of a race against winners. Star Sweeper tracked the pace and battled best down the lane to win a first-level allowance on December 24, going 6 ½ furlongs on the dirt at Parx.

A pair of entrants come out of open maiden special weight scores. Ottinho graduated on December 31 at 1 ⅛ miles on the Aqueduct dirt, the same course and distance as the Withers. The other, Schoolyardsuperman, graduated December 6 at Aqueduct Racetrack, over the one-turn mile.

The other two Withers entrants both graduated last out over the one-turn mile at Aqueduct, doing so against New York-bred company. Fourth and One did so on December 5. Talk to Me Jimmy did it on November 9.

Withers Stakes Contenders

These are the contenders in the 2026 Withers, organized by post position:

1. Grittiness: The only maiden in the field, he got a try going 1 ⅛ miles against stakes horses in the Remsen (G2) in early December but came up short, only running a mild fifth behind Paladin. Being by Curlin out of the graded-stakes winning Oxbow mare Coach Rocks, everything suggests he should move forward with time and distance. He also suggested two back in his runner-up effort in a maiden race that he can handle the Aqueduct dirt and show some tactical speed. However, it may be worth waiting and seeing one, especially given that trainer Todd Pletcher can get overbet, even with horses like this.
2. Schoolyardsuperman: The stretch from a sprint to one mile did this Chad Brown trainee good—unsurprising, given Brown’s success with longer-distance horses. Sire Practical Joke was a confirmed miler, though, and the female family is quite sprinter-miler, meaning any desire to get nine furlongs is going to have to come from damsire Tiznow. He is also unlikely to get the best of it from a trip perspective—he’s a speed horse, and there is a lot of speed to his outside with which he will have to contend.
3. Ottinho: Schoolyardsuperman’s stablemate in the Chad Brown barn, this one set the pace in his maiden win but survived a protracted battle to earn it. He ran a solid enough third on debut, closing up late ground over a one-turn mile trip that was never going to be long enough for a Quality Road half-brother to Gun Runner. He is the only 1 ⅛-mile winner in the field, new rider Jose Lezcano has been firing hot at Aqueduct, and the fight he displayed in his maiden win will come in handy again.
4. Star Sweeper: The good news is, this horse beat winners last out, winning a first-level allowance on December 24. However, that and his maiden win both came at 6 ½ furlongs on the dirt at Parx. Frequently, Parx horses just aren’t as effective elsewhere, and in two starts in ungraded stakes elsewhere in the mid-Atlantic, Star Sweeper has been comprehensively beaten. There is some pedigree upside at the distance despite the disappointment in his only two-turn start last year. He also showed good tactical speed in that allowance win last out, and keeps jockey Angel Rodriguez from that effort. However, even with that potential, he still has to prove he can run outside of Parx—and trainer Louis Linder hasn’t been firing with his Aqueduct shippers this winter.
5. Mailata: the only stakes winner in the field, he put it all together third-out in his only start at two turns, a maiden special weight dirt mile at Parx last October in his first start with blinkers. He followed that up with a pair of stakes wins: against state-breds in the Pennsylvania Nursery, then against open foes in the Future Stars. The open stakes win was suspect—he won by 19 lengths, but it was a small field, just three. He did win from a pressing spot and not a leading spot in that race, meaning he may not be complete one-way speed. It won’t be an easy task, but trainer Robert Reid won this two years back, and he is live again.
6. Talk to Me Jimmy: He acquitted himself fine in two starts at a mile on dirt against New York-bred maidens last year, chasing for third against an off-turf bunch on debut before leading at every call second-out, with the assistance of some shiny, new blinkers. However, both of those races came back slowly compared to the company he’ll have to face in this spot. Furthermore, he’s got speed to his outside and more speed to his inside, so it’s a tough ask from a trip perspective.
7. Fourth and One: He acquitted himself well in four starts against New York-breds as a juvenile, and though it took him until his fourth start to get his diploma, he placed in a pair of stakes along the way. Royal Riddle, the horse he beat by 7 ¼ lengths in his last-out maiden win, also came back to break his maiden against New York-breds. He also had pedigree upside on the stretch out to 1 ⅛ miles, being a Maxfield colt out of a Medaglia d’Oro mare. However, Fourth and One is another speed horse in a race rife with them, and he’ll need to take a step forward in his first attempt against horses bred outside the Empire State.

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: Max Player (2020), Risk Taking (2021), Early Voting (2022), and Captain Cook (2025) all went from maiden wins to Withers wins. Three of those runners graduated at Aqueduct, while Max Player 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 (2023) 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 second 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: 3 Best Bets

These are the three best bets in the 2026 Withers Stakes:

1. Ottinho (TBA)

Ottinho’s lone win came at 1 ⅛ miles in a maiden win in his last start at Aqueduct, making him the only horse in the field with a win at the same distance as the Withers, and one of only two horses with a try at the trip. So, not only does this colt have a pedigree to handle the distance—he is by Quality Road out of the same dam as Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Gun Runner!—he has the on-track form to back up that potential.

Pace is the big question for Ottinho, as his victory came with a forward trip – and there will be plenty of speed in this race as well. However, it stands out that he was able to set a pressured pace, battle into the final furlong, and still get the job done. He’ll need every bit of that grit this time, but he has found it before, and there’s every chance he will be able to find it again.

2. Mailata (6-1)

Watch the board on Mailata; although he is the only open stakes winner in the field, there is some chance he’ll be a bettable price. After all? He comes off an easy 19-length score at Parx. There is good reason to be suspicious of Parx shippers, as they don’t always hold their form. However, if there’s a barn that can get a Parx shipper to hold form in the Withers, it’s Robert Reid. After all, Reid has won this race twice before, both times with horses who started their careers in Philadelphia. Afleet Again (2010) won twice there before getting his sea legs at Aqueduct, and Uncle Heavy (2024) won this race in his sophomore debut, coming off a score in a stakes at Parx in December.

Pace is the question, as Mailata has figured it out only after starting to show some early speed. However, he was able to attend just off the pace before blowing the race wide open last out – a deviation from his previous two wins, both of which showed him leading at every call. If he can show a tracking gear again this time, perhaps he gets the first jump and holds off the late runners.

3. Fourth and One (TBA)

Though he faces open company for the first time in the Withers, there is upside for Fourth and One to cut it. He has speed, but he has shown the ability to battle and stay in the mix, and even track and finish in the frame. From the outside post of just seven, that gives him some pace options and a chance not to lose too much ground outside a field this small.

He will have to prove himself at two turns. However, being by Maxfield out of a Medaglia d’Oro mare, there is some upside for him to carry it over this 1 ⅛-mile, two-turn trip. The barn also inspires confidence—Jeremiah Englehart has been winning a quarter of the time and has been doing very well both with horses coming off similar freshenings as well as runners in ungraded stakes races. Though he is facing open company for the first time, this is a relatively gentle place to make that move, and he should be ready to fire with another solid effort.

Withers Stakes Card

The Withers anchors an 11-race card Friday at Aqueduct Racetrack. In addition to this Kentucky Derby prep there are four other stakes races: the seven-furlong Ruthless for sophomore fillies, the seven-furlong Toboggan for older horses, the Ladies at 1 ⅛ miles for older fillies and mares, and the Interborough at seven furlongs for older female sprinters.

The card is full of classy horses and competitive fields. And, between these stakes and a host of stakes at Oaklawn (including the Southwest) being moved from last weekend to this Friday, it is a bonus weekday of stakes racing and wagering. Keep up with the news and watch all the races at FanDuel TV, and bet every race at FanDuel!

Aqueduct

Aqueduct is New York’s winter and spring home 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 2026 Withers happens Friday, February 6, at 4:20 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It is carded as the 10th of 11 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 track 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 2026, Todd Pletcher leads with three. He won in 2008 with Harlem Rocker, 2013 with Revolutionary, and 2015 with Far From Over. He can win a fourth if Grittiness breaks his maiden in the Withers.

Q: Who is the favorite for the 2026 Withers?

A: The 9-5 morning-line favorite is regally-bred Ottinho, a half-brother to Gun Runner trained by Chad Brown. He has a good chance to hold favoritism after a maiden victory on December 31 over course and distance. His stablemate Schoolyardsuperman, named at 2-1 on the morning line, has a good chance to rival him at the top of the market. Others like Todd Pletcher trainee Grittiness (9-2) and last-out stakes winner Mailata (6-1) could take interest as well.

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 2026 edition, Manuel Franco leads with four wins, with Far From Over (2015), Sunny Ridge (2016), Hit Show (2023), and Captain Cook (2025). He returns in 2026 with Schoolyardsuperman.

Q: Who won the 2025 Withers Stakes?

A: Captain Cook won the 2025 Withers Stakes for trainer Rick Dutrow and jockey Manuel Franco. Dutrow does not have a runner in 2026, but Franco rides Schoolyardsuperman for trainer Chad Brown.

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