Withers Stakes
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The Withers Stakes is a race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses willing to compete one mile on the dirt. Held at Aqueduct Racetrack every year at the end of April (one week before the Kentucky Derby), it is a Grade III event, and offers a purse of $150,000. While it was once a prep for the Kentucky Derby, horses rarely run back so quickly and it has declined in prestige and importance.
The Withers was named for David Durham Withers (1821-1892), an aristocrat who was thought of as "...the best racing authority in America." He also owned Brookdale Farm in the Lincroft section of Middletown Township, New Jersey which was the home of some of the finest bloodstock in the world. David Withers, with three partners, purchased Monmouth Park in 1878 as well as serving as the first president of the Board of Control...which became the Jockey Club.
The inaugural run of the Withers Stakes occurred in 1874 at Jerome Park, later moved to Morris Park, then Jamaica Race Course, and Belmont Park, and has now settled at Aqueduct. The Withers was not run in 1911 and 1912.
[edit] Past Winners
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† In 1969, Gleaming Light finished first, but was disqualified and placed fifth.
