Meet the Contenders: 2026 Gotham Stakes
Iron Honor breaking his maiden at Aqueduct (Photo by Coglianese Photos)
February 24th, 2026
Meet the horses running in the 2026 Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct. For each horse, we're listing a pro, a con, and a rating of potential. The star rating of 1 to 5 represents the opportunity to perform well. Be sure to follow these contenders by adding them to your Stable Alerts.
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Balboa (Photo by Benoit Photo)
#1 Balboa ***
Pro: Has run well all three times for Russell and should be prominent throughout.
Con: A mile might still be a tad farther than he really wants to go.
Hammond wins the Juvenile Sprint. (Photo by Coglianese Photo)
#2 Hammond ****
Pro: Progressed each start and ran into a toughie last time in the Swale S.
Con: Far from certain whether he will have the best closing kick.
TwinSpires
#3 Crown the Buckeye ***
Pro: Shortening up to one turn and dropping in class should help.
Con: Ran decently at FG but has still only beaten Ohio-breds.
Fourth and One wins at Aquedcut. (Photo by Coglianese Photo)
#4 Fourth and One *
Pro: Ran well below par in the nine-furlong Withers S. and likely better than that.
Con: Must contend with other speeds and perhaps a cut below on class.
TwinSpires
#5 Right to Party ***
Pro: Relatively unexposed and should get an ideal pace setup.
Con: Well beaten by Iron Honor the first time they met.
Iron Honor wins at Aquedcut. (Photo by Coglianese Photo)
#6 Iron Honor *****
Pro: Earned 99 Brisnet Speed rating winning key maiden; race flow here should suit.
Con: Concedes experience to the rest and will be a very short price.
IRON HONOR wins at first asking in R3 at Aqueduct for the Chad Brown barn with @jockeyfranco aboard! 💪 pic.twitter.com/Wr4bJRVgbv
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) December 13, 2025
TwinSpires
#7 Exhibition Only **
Pro: Return to dirt produced eye-catching maiden win over this track and distance.
Con: Class rise and abundance of other speeds appear as major barriers.
TwinSpires
#8 Creole Chrome
***SCRATCHED***
Dirty Rich wins the Adent Stakes at Oaklawn Park. (Photo by Coglianese Photo)
#9 Dirty Rich **
Pro: Stakes winner two back, albeit over 5 1/2 furlongs.
Con: The all-or-nothing type is yet more speed in a pace-heavy race.
