Withers Stakes
| Grade III race | |
| Location |
Aqueduct Racetrack Queens, New York 
|
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1874 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | Aqueduct Racetrack |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1 1⁄16 miles (8.5 furlongs) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-year-olds |
| Weight | Assigned |
| Purse | $250,000 (since 2014) |
The Withers Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds willing to compete one and one-sixteenth mile on the dirt. Held at Aqueduct Racetrack in February, it is a Grade III event, and currently offers a purse of $250,000.
The Withers was named for David Dunham Withers (1821–1892), an important owner/breeder who won this race in 1890 with his colt, King Eric.
The inaugural run of the Withers Stakes occurred in 1874 at Jerome Park Racetrack. It was raced there through 1889 after which it was hosted by the Morris Park Racecourse from 1890 through 1904, then Jamaica Racetrack in 1956, and at Belmont Park from 1957 through 1959 and 1984 through 1996. The Withers was not run in 1911 and 1912 due to a New York State legislated ban on all forms of wagering on horses. It was also not run in 2011, but returned to the New York racing calendar on February 4, 2012.
The Withers was historically run at a distance of one mile but was lengthened to 1 1⁄16 miles in 2012. In 1956, it was also contested at a mile and a sixteenth.
The Withers is now run in February on Aqueduct's inner track as a prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Prior to 2012, it was run in May at Belmont Park. In 1919, Sir Barton won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, then won the Withers before winning the Belmont Stakes to complete the Triple Crown. Count Fleet repeated this feat in 1945. Other famous winners of the race include Man o' War and Native Dancer.
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