Remsen 2025
A big field of 12 Triple Crown hopefuls heads to the starting gate for the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack on Saturday. This Grade 2 race is part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby series and also one of the signature races of the “Beat Mike Somich” contest offered by 1/ST BET in conjunction with VSiN. You can go head-to-head with one of the hosts of our VSiN At The Track podcast and one of our resident handicapping experts.
The Remsen is one of five stakes races you can pick from on December 6 with four at Aqueduct and one at Gulfstream. This is the only race where Kentucky Derby points are available and we’re really focusing a lot on the prep races for the Run for the Roses.
The 2-year-olds will go 1 ⅛ miles around the dirt track and we have a very crowded field in search of some important points and a noteworthy win. Ted Noffey, Mr. A. P., Intrepido, Universe, and Spice Runner are currently in the top five, but the winner of this race has the chance to get close to them or even make the top five.
The Remsen Stakes will be Race 9 in your Saturday Aqueduct program with post time expected to be 3:08 p.m. ET on December 6.
Remsen Stakes 2025 Entries, Horses, Jockeys, and Trainers:
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Day One Starter | J. Alvarado | C. McGaughey | 15-1 |
| 2 | Paladin | F. Prat | C. Brown | 3-1 |
| 3 | I Did I Did | J. Rosario | M. Maker | 12-1 |
| 4 | Grittiness | J. Rodriguez | T. Pletcher | 20-1 |
| 5 | Chambersville | C. Elliott | K. McPeek | 30-1 |
| 6 | Courting | J. Velazquez | T. Pletcher | 9/2 |
| 7 | Ignitor | M. Franco | R. Dutrow | 6-1 |
| 8 | Concarneau | M. Sanchez | M. Montoya | 50-1 |
| 9 | Renegade | I. Ortiz Jr. | T. Pletcher | 5-1 |
| 10 | Balboa | R. Santana Jr. | B. Russell | 12-1 |
| 11 | Talkin | K. Carmouche | D. Gargan | 5-1 |
| 12 | Probably Dreaming | C. Lopez | G. Capuano | 15-1 |
Dornoch won this race in 2023 and went on to win the 2024 Belmont Stakes. He also won the Haskell later that year. Mo Donegal won this race in 2021 and went on to win the 2022 Belmont Stakes. So, even though we may not get the Kentucky Derby victor, we might get a big win down the line, so keep your eyes and ears on the contenders in this field.
In terms of Road to the Kentucky Derby points, I Did I Did has two from finishing fourth in the Street Sense at Churchill Downs in late October. Balboa has one point from finishing fifth in the American Pharaoh. But, Talkin has the most with a second-place finish in the Champagne on this track back on Oct. 4. That race was a mile. This one is a little more.
This race awards Road to the Kentucky Derby points on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale.
Here are some thoughts on each horse at the odds at time of publish:
1. Day One Starter (15-1; Alvarado/McGaughey): It’s a tough rail draw for Day One Starter, the son of Upstart and Psychadelacized, as he’s plenty familiar with this track, having run on it three times. But, he hasn’t gone more than a mile and was a distant third in the listed Nashua Stakes as the favorite after a nice maiden win at 6 ½ furlongs. Now running a route race with a lot of traffic, it’s a tough ask.
2. Paladin (3-1; Prat/Brown): The son of Gun Runner and Secret Sigh ran well over a mile in his maiden, a win by DQ over Renegade, who has Post 9 in this race. It was a pretty good time and a good run for Flavien Prat in the horse’s first-ever race, finishing a head behind after a bump took him off-stride a bit.
Gun Runner offspring have been doing well overall and Prat is a 25% rider this year and Brown has hit the board with 59% of his entries. He’ll be a factor. Will he be the factor?
3. I Did I Did (12-1; Rosario/Maker): The first of three Curlin colts in the field is I Did I Did, whose name comes from dam Ithinkisawapudycat. He ran an admirable fourth to Incredibolt, Universe, and Very Connected in the Street Sense, which is a Grade 3 race, but it feels like that was a strong field than this one. This is his New York debut after four starts in Kentucky, so we’ll see how he likes the cold and the NY dirt.
We’ll see if Michael Maker can get more distance out of him, since the gas tank was pretty empty in his second try at 1 1/16. He won his first one, though, so that’s reason for optimism.
4. Grittiness (20-1; Rodriguez/Pletcher): Jaime Rodriguez has this Todd Pletcher assignment aboard the son of Curlin and Coach Rocks. His first Aqueduct start led to his best career finish, a second in a mile maiden back on Nov. 9. He’ll really need to level up here, though, as he lost by two and a half to Courting, who has Post 6 here, and his speed figures aren’t on par with the others.
5. Chambersville (30-1; Elliott/McPeek): Kenny McPeek doesn’t have his go-to rider Brian Hernandez on Chambersville here, as Christopher Elliott has the mount. The son of Twirling Candy and Reef Point conquered 1 ⅛ last time out at Keeneland, but that was on turf. McPeek will give him a look on dirt here. It’s an interesting experiment and maybe a good time to do it with a 92 Equibase Speed Figure last time out over this distance. There’s a lot of turf in the bloodline, but Twirling Candy did win on dirt over 1 ⅛ at Santa Anita in the Strub Stakes.
6. Courting (9/2; Velazquez/Pletcher): The last of the Curlin colts is Courting, one of the shorter prices in this wide-open race. He actually ran a stronger race in his debut maiden back on Sept. 27 when he finished fourth, but he did break his maiden last time out over an Aqueduct mile. That was only a four-horse race and he was an odds-on price and a big one at that, beating Grittiness by two and a half. This was a very pricy investment as a yearling and this is the start of trying to live up to it.
7. Igniter (6-1; Franco/Dutrow): Manny Franco holds the whip for Igniter, who hasn’t raced in over three months. His last run was a very impressive mile at Aqueduct and Courting was a very distant fourth in that race. The son of Volatile and Malibu Prayer has had some varying workout times while stabled at Belmont Park, so it is tough to know what we’re going to get. But, both efforts have been solid and a repeat of his 87 Equibase Speed Figure will have him in the mix.
An improvement and he may very well win this race.
8. Concarneau (50-1; Sanchez/Montoya): Tosses are few and far between in this race, but we’ve got one here in Concarneau. Mychel Sanchez gets the ride for trainer Marya Montoya with this winner over a mile at Parx who then was a total non-factor over 1 1/16 at Laurel Park, finishing more than 25 lengths back.
9. Renegade (5-1; I. Ortiz/Pletcher): This is not a toss. In fact, this might be the pick. Renegade for Irad Ortiz Jr. and Todd Pletcher is one of the best-bred in the field as the son of Into Mischief and Spice Is Nice. Renegade beat Paladin over a mile back in mid-October, but that’s the race where he was DQ’d and Paladin was given the win. A late bump was the culprit and Pletcher goes with Ortiz over Velazquez here.
He profiles as a really high-level closer and maybe the best closer in this field. In that sense, the added distance is probably helpful and Ortiz should be able to settle in the path that he wants to. Ortiz is approaching $40 million in earnings for the year and has earned over $377 million in his spectacular career.
10. Balboa (12-1; Santana/Russell): The most-raced horse in the field is Brittany Russell’s Balboa, as he’ll make his sixth career start here. He’s been in some very good fields, including two Grade 1 efforts, where he finished fifth in both. It was only a six-furlong scamper in the mud last time out, but he won the James F. Lewis pretty easily and now we’ll see if the move to 1 ⅛ is right for him.
So far, he’s run five races at five different distances, topping out at 1 1/16, so it seems like the connections are trying to find the sweet spot for the son of Not This Time and Tap Of War. This will be his second start in Russell’s barn and he wants to run out front. Does he have the distance in him to sustain the pace he’ll probably set?
11. Talkin (5-1; Carmouche/Gargan): After bypassing the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, we’ll see Talkin in this race, as the son of Good Magic and Rote was first in his seven-furlong maiden and second in his graded stakes debut, finishing behind Napoleon Solo in the Champagne. He’s already finished better than Universe and Further Ado, who just won the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club as the favorite.
Kendrick Carmouche has an interesting assignment, as 2-year-olds rarely run in fields this big and he’s going to have to add extra distance to the run by starting from the outside. For a horse that has never gone more than a mile, there are some question marks attached. Sire Good Magic was a terrific dirt route runner, though, so that’s promising.
12. Probably Dreaming (15-1; Lopez/Capuano): Carlos Lopez and Gary Capuano don’t carry as much weight as the other jockey/trainer combos in this field, but Probably Dreaming is a solid horse. As a three-time winner, he’s the most accomplished in the field in that regard, but he’s run against far lesser fields than this one. He won a listed stakes over a mile at Delaware Park, but finished second in the Nashua last time out. At least he has an Aqueduct run under his hooves, but the son of Improbable and Dreaming as is at long odds here.
Improbable didn’t win at 1 ⅛ or longer until he was a 4-year-old, with three of his first four wins at a mile or less. He won at 1 1/16 in the Los Alamos Futurity to cap off his 2-year-old campaign and then only once as a 3-year-old in seven starts.
Remsen Stakes Predictions
A wide range of outcomes is possible in this race, given the inherent inconsistency of 2-year-olds and the distance bump for most of the field.
I like Renegade a lot here, especially for what his metrics and bloodline suggest about his closing ability and tolerance for the distance. I’ll put him over Talkin, who should also like the distance and outlast most of the field. Courting and Paladin come next for me. Most of these horses are inexperienced, but I worry about Paladin with 12 in the field pushing towards the interior of the track at the start. It’s hard to know how he’ll handle that.
Prediction: 9-11-6-2
For more coverage, check out our horse racing page. Don’t forget to try your luck in the 1/ST BET and VSiN “Beat Mike Somich” Contest.
