Krantz Memorial Stakes ($100.000 Purse)
FG- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
January 17, 2026

In her last two races, Yesterdays Queen came close to picking up her first stake win, being involved in a photo with the winner but coming up short. On Saturday in the Krantz Memorial Stakes she would come out on top and made sure it would not come down to a photo. Winning by a length, Yesterdays Queen makes trainer Wood Racing Stable a first-time winner of the Krantz. Jockey P Lopez get his second win, and they have come in back-to-back years. Congratulations to them! The winning race time was 1:39.97, the fourth quickest in the race’s history. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.61)- No one is hurried out of the gate, and we have three of them out in front as we head into the opening turn. Of this group, the leader, Hunterman Stable’s Huntee is on the rail with a nose in front of TwinTowersRacing’s Groovy, who is on the outside. Running between them, is Ediana for Royalty Stables. It’s a length to Childe Girl, who takes the wide route into the turn for Nakamura Stables, and another length to our eventual winner, Wood Racing Stable’s Yesterdays Queen. She keeps her position on the rail, right in front of Snow Pea (First Flight Stable), and the trailer is Say Her Name (Robeth).

(½ Mile- :47.19)- There is not much change around the turn and into the backstretch as there is little to separate Groovy and Huntee in front while Ediana runs right between them. I Castillo wisely moves Childe Girl into a stalking position behind them while about halfway into the turn instead of choosing to run in the fourth lane. Yesterdays Queen waits for her time to make a move, running behind that one, fifth, and three lengths from the front. There’s a gap of about two to Snow Pea and about two more to Say Her Name.

(Top of Stretch, 2F To Go)- Huntee packs it in at the top of the turn, and you can forget about her now. In front, Groovy held an advantage for most of the turn, but it will be Ediana moving forward and pushing to the top spot entering the stretch. During the turn, we would see P Lopez ask Yesterdays Queen for more run, and the mare would respond, making quick work Childe Girl in the turn, something that would be notable for the finish of this race since Childe Girl is the one who ends up running second. It was at that point of the race, where you may be able to say that Yesterdays Queen won it. She was about a length back of the two frontrunners but ready to make a move. Childe Girl is fourth for now, with Snow Pea not showing much yet and Say Her Name is way out of it.

(Finish- 1:39.97)- Into the stretch, both Yesterdays Queen and Childe Girl are making their moves, and they seem to have similar power in their stride. Therefore, Yesterdays Queen’s pass of Childe Girl when it happened is very much the deciding factor of this race. These two would be the best in the stretch, and Yesterdays Queen would never relinquish her advantage of Childe Girl, going on to win by a length. Childe Girl is a clear second, about two lengths ahead of a third-place dead heat between Ediana and Snow Pea, with Groovy fifth. The final two were soundly defeated, with Say Her Name next and Huntee defeated by nine.

About The Winner- Yesterdays Queen, trained by Wood Racing Stable and ridden to victory by P Lopez, is a five-year-old mare by Yesterdays Pride and is out of the late Scarlett Queen. She was bred in California by Noblepark as a third quarter two-year-old and was acquired by Wood Racing Stable with a $5.000 claim almost exactly a year ago. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fourth in 15 starts and first stake win. Her career earnings are now $193.780.

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded