First Spots Awarded In Road To Oak Grove Trotting Derby And Oaks

The Road to the 2027 $500,000 USD Oak Grove Trotting Derby and $300,000 USD Oak Grove Trotting Oaks is officially underway. 

The first two “Win and You’re In” automatic qualifying races were contested on Hambletonian Day at The Meadowlands, where Lifetime Dreamer captured the New Jersey Sire Stakes Platinum Championship for two-year-old trotting males and Wall of Fame secured victory in the filly division.  Action continues this weekend at Woodbine Mohawk Park with the Grade 1 William Wellwood and Peaceful Way Stakes.

The “Road to...” series was established to reward top two-year-old trotting performances and enrich Oak Grove’s premier events. A series of designated Grand Circuit and Sire Stakes races serve as automatic qualifying events to the Derby and Oaks eliminations.

The kickoff of the Road to the 2027 Oak Grove Trotting Derby and Oaks comes on the heels of a successful inaugural edition, in which Spencer Hanover was crowned champion of the Derby and Jailbird Jog was victorious in the Oaks.  Established as the kickoff to the elite trotting season and the richest preps for the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks, the 2026 events received 101 nominations and 46 elimination entries. Thirteen graduates of the Oak Grove Derby and Oaks competed in the Hambletonian eliminations, with four securing spots in the Hambletonian final and three reaching the Oaks final -- representing more than one-third of the championship fields.

Wagering and purses ignited the excitement around the five-race-card 2026 Festival of Racing. Bettors wagered in excess of $2.5 million USD, anchored by a track-record single-day handle of $873,181 USD on Derby and Oaks Eliminations Monday.The 2026 Festival of Racing featured over $2.75 million USD in purses with $1.5 million USD in purses awarded on Oak Grove Trotting Derby Day.

The 2027 Festival of Racing will kick off on Monday, May 3 following Kentucky Derby weekend with an anticipated record number of horses racing in the eliminations. For 2027, 559 two-year-old trotters (277 colts and 282 fillies) have nominated into the events. 2027 Oak Grove Derby Day is scheduled for Saturday, May 15.

Road To The Oak Grove Trotting Derby (Colts)