The Vosburgh's grade may have diminished, but its capacity to produce a Breeders' Cup horse has not. Ten sprinters will test the new Belmont Park on Saturday in the $250,000 Vosburgh Stakes (G3), a 7-furlong "Win and You're In" qualifier for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
For all the illustrious names on the Vosburgh honor roll, this year's entrants have combined for only two graded-stakes victories. Bring the Smoke (20-1) supplied one in the 2026 Maryland Sprint (G3), while Crazy Mason (6-1) captured the 2025 Carter Stakes (G2).
The other eight will be trying to win a graded race for the first time. A distinguished past, inaugurated in 1940, the Vosburgh was a Grade 1 through its 2019 edition, a Grade 2 from 2020 through 2023, and has been a Grade 3 since 2024. Its honor roll includes Bold Ruler, two-time winner Dr. Fager, Forego, Ta Wee, Housebuster, Groovy, Ghostzapper, and two-time winners Private Zone and Imperial Hint.
The race's recent influence extends well beyond its current grade. Elite Power won the 2022 Vosburgh before taking the first of his two consecutive Breeders' Cup Sprints. Cody's Wish won the 2023 renewal, then successfully defended his title in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
This edition lacks a horse with that kind of resume. What it offers instead is depth, improving form and a puzzle: Do the accomplished graded performers retain the advantage, or is one of the late-developing sprinters ready to join them?
The Forego Stakes (G1) supplies four of the Vosburgh's 10 entrants. Senior Officer (the 5-2 morning-line favorite) and T Kraft (5-1) dead-heated for second, three-quarters of a length behind Hymn; Crazy Mason finished a close fourth; and Maryland Sprint winner Bring the Smoke was eased after retreating to last.
Of the four, Crazy Mason owns the deepest graded-stakes resume -- and perhaps the most frustrating recent record. The late-running 5-year-old is 0-for-9 since winning the Carter, but every one of those starts came in a graded stakes. He finished third in this year's Churchill Downs (G1) and in last year's Cigar Mile (G2), Forego and True North (G3), and was runner-up in the 2026 Commonwealth (G3) and last year's Vosburgh. He has lost often enough to test the patience, but seldom badly enough to dismiss.
Bettors have never been shy about backing Senior Officer. He has been favored in all seven career starts, including his stakes debut in the Forego. The Brad Cox trainee entered that race on a three-race winning streak and now gets Flavien Prat for his second try in stakes company. T Kraft, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, had already shown he belonged with graded sprinters when fourth in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1) before outrunning his 23-1 odds in the Forego.
Bring the Smoke, meanwhile, must prove his Saratoga collapse was an aberration rather than a reversal of form.
Those occasionally willing to abandon speed figures for poetry may find one exotic wager irresistible: an Ignite the Light (12-1)-Bring the Smoke (20-1) exacta.
Contrary Thinking (6-1) brings two career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figures from three encouraging Saratoga starts since Amelia Green took over his training. Purchased for $130,000 at a Fasig-Tipton Digital Sale in May, the 6-year-old missed by a nose to Senior Officer in June, finished second to graded winner Whatchatalkinabout in July, then defeated next-out winner Commuted by 2 1/2 lengths Aug. 14.
Green also sends out New York-bred Doc Sullivan (8-1), who has been second in both starts for her. After finishing behind Buttah in the John Morrissey, he was caught by a nose by Wynstock going a mile Sept. 5. He cuts back to 7 furlongs, where his record is 9-3-2-1, with all three victories coming in restricted stakes.
Moonlight (6-1) ships east after a rallying second in the Pat O'Brien (G2) at Del Mar and would benefit from a contested pace.
Stakes-placed Ignite the Light also does his best running late.
El Grande O (15-1) makes his first start for Ilkay Kantarmaci after being claimed for $110,000 from a nose victory at Saratoga; the New York-bred owns two restricted stakes wins and two graded placings.
Buttah (10-1) may be the field's most appealing improver. The New York-bred has won two straight in three starts since joining Kantarmaci, and his June 6 allowance victory at Saratoga has become a key race.
Third-place finisher Local Knowledge returned to win the Amsterdam (G2), fourth-place Yo Banana Boy captured the Leon Reed, and fifth-place Sea Strike dominated the Listed Curlin.
Buttah strengthened the race's form when he defeated Doc Sullivan by 1 1/2 lengths in the 7-furlong John Morrissey Aug. 6. Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, aboard for both victories, returns from post 9.
A win would be Kantarmaci's first in a graded stakes under his own name. Kantarmaci will not burden Castellano with elaborate instructions. "I'm going to tell him, 'Do whatever you want,'" the trainer said. "I'm going to tell him, 'Hi, how are you? Good luck.'"
Post time for the Vosburgh, race 9, is 4:44 p.m. ET.
The Vosburgh is one of four graded stakes on Saturday’s Belmont card: the others are the Flower Bowl (G2), a “Win and You’re In’’ qualifier to the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1); the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (G1); and the Gallant Bob (G2).
| # | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moonlight | Jose Ortiz | Peter Miller | 6-1 |
| 2 | El Grande O | Antonio Fresu | Ilkay Kantarmaci | 15-1 |
| 3 | Senior Officer | Flavien Prat | Brad Cox | 5-2 |
| 4 | Doc Sullivan | Ricardo Santana, Jr. | Amelia Green | 8-1 |
| 5 | Bring the Smoke | Edgard Zayas | Whit Beckman | 20-1 |
| 6 | Ignite the Light | John Velazquez | Rick Dutrow, Jr. | 12-1 |
| 7 | Crazy Mason | Manny Franco | Greg Sacco | 6-1 |
| 8 | Contrary Thinking | Dylan Davis | Amelia Green | 6-1 |
| 9 | Buttah | Javier Castellano | Ilkay Kantarmaci | 10-1 |
| 10 | T Kraft | Junior Alvarado | Bill Mott | 5-1 |
Last Updated on 09/25/2026
Jenny Kellner is an award-winning journalist and teacher who has covered thoroughbred racing for years. As a reporter for both United Press International and The Associated Press, her work has appeared in publications and on websites around the world. Jenny has also written for The New York Times, the New York Post, Newsday and Sports Illustrated.
