With 54 runnings to date, the Woodward is a comparative newcomer to the NYRA stakes schedule, but the race quickly established itself as a key stop on the road to championship honors. Named in memory of racing industry leader, Belair Stud’s William Woodward, the race had been run at Belmont Park for most of its history, though Aqueduct also hosted several runnings. In 2006 the Woodward was brought to Saratoga Race Course to be a bookend to the season opening Whitney Handicap and the feature attraction to Saratoga’s closing weekend.

This weekend promises to be a “Grade 1 Grand Finale” to the 2008 Saratoga season with three other Grade 1 stakes carded along with the half-million dollar, mile-and-an-eighth Woodward.

Sixteen Hall of Fame horses have won almost half the runnings of the Woodward, led by four time winner Forego (1974-77) and three-time winner Kelso (1961-1963.) Other Hall of Fame Woodward winners include Sword Dancer (1959 & ‘60), Gun Bow (1964), Buckpasser (1966), Damascus (1967), Arts and Letters (1969) Seattle Slew (1978), Affirmed (1979), Slew o’ Gold (1983 &’84), Alysheba (1988), Easy Goer (1989), Holy Bull (1994), Cigar (1995 & ’96) and Skip Away (1998). Future Hall of Famer Spectacular Bid so dominated the competition in 1980 that he ran unopposed in Woodward in the first walkover in a major America race in over 30 years.

The most notable Hall of Fame horse to lose the Woodward was the great Secretariat, who, for the second time in his sterling three-year-old season, lost to an Allen Jerkens trained horse, this time Prove Out.

In recent runnings Mineshaft (2003), Ghostzapper (2004) and Saint Liam (2005) would all win the Woodward en route to Horse of the Year honors.

Along with all the marquee horses to win the Woodward are great jockeys and trainers, as well. A brief list of winning trainers includes Eddie Neloy, Frank Whiteley Jr, Elliott Burch, the aforementioned Allen Jerkens, Laz Barrera, D. Wayne Lukas, Sid Watters Jr, Shug McGaughey, Jack Van Berg, Bill Mott, Sonny Hine, Bob Baffert, Scotty Schulhofer, Bobby Frankel, Todd Pletcher and so many more. Jockeys Angel Cordero and Jerry Bailey each picked up six Woodward wins, Bill Shoemaker won five, while Eddie Arcaro and Braulio Baeza each won four. In the 1980s and 90s, Laffit Pincay Jr., Chris McCarron, Pat Day and Gary Stevens all won the Woodward. Active Woodward winning riders include Kent Desormeaux, Edgar Prado, Jorge Chavez, John Velazquez and Robby Albarado—regular rider of this year’s Woodward favorite, Curlin, currently rated top horse in the world by British racing publication Timeform.

The Grade 1 Action Continues…

Also on Saturday fans will see a group of top sprinters go seven furlongs in the 29th running of the $250,000, Grade 1 Forego, named for the four-time Woodward winner. The Forego honor roll includes two-time winner Groovy (1986 & ’87), Housebuster (1991), Rubiano (1992), and most recently Midnight Lute (2007), who would go on to win last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

Sunday’s card features the 117th running of the Spinaway Stakes for two-year-old fillies, won in the past by such champions as Maskette (1908), Top Flight (1931), Affectionately (1962), Numbered Account (1971), Ruffian (1974). More recently Ashado would win the 2003 Spinaway and later earn Eclipse Awards at age three and four. The Grade 1 Spinaway will be run at seven furlongs for a quarter million dollar purse.

Finally the Saratoga Grade 1 stakes schedule wraps up Monday with two-year olds going seven furlongs in the 104th renewal of the $250,000 Three Chimney’s Hopeful. The winner of this prestigious juvenile stake is automatically considered the early leader on the road to the next year’s Triple Crown. Arguably the top two greatest horses of the last century, Man o’ War (1919) and Secretariat (1972) won the Hopeful as did Whirlaway (1940), Native Dancer (1952), Nashua (1954), Buckpasser (1965), Affirmed (1977) and, more recently, Afleet Alex (2004).

With $1,250,000 in prize money and three centuries of combined racing history, Saratoga’s “Grade 1 Grand Finale”—topped by Horse of the Year Curlin’s Woodward run—should be make this the most significant closing weekend of racing in Saratoga’s venerable history.