Hometown heroes Baby Vino, Lindsay Schultz make Haskell Stakes history
· Yahoo Sports
OCEANPORT - The stormy weather didn’t keep the fans away from Monmouth Park on Haskell Day. Despite intermittent rain and thunderstorms, plenty of fans from the announced crowd of 35,608 stuck around for a thrilling edition of the $1 million NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes.
It seemed like Preakness winner Napoleon Solo had control of the race heading into the final turn until he was challenged by a Monmouth Park local in 28-1 shot Baby Vino.
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They were neck-and-neck down the stretch on the wet track but ultimately Baby Vino and jockey Jorge Vargas captured the Grade 1 victory after a brief inquiry by the stewards. This was the third lifetime victory in seven starts for the colt owned by Cosmo Stables and Delta Square Racing.
Baby Vino’s victory made his trainer Lindsay Schultz the first woman to win the Haskell, roughly 10 weeks after Cherie DeVaux became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby.
Only six previous starters in the Haskell were trained by women. The first Haskell Stakes was run on in1968 when it was known as the Monmouth Invitational Handicap.
Schultz gave a nod to the earlier female trainers who “opened it up for us.”
“I’m the first to win the Haskell, there was the first to win the Derby, and there was the first female to win the Belmont (Jena Antonucci in 2023 with Arcangelo),” Schultz said. “So I think it’s great that these women have been around and they’ve really opened it up for us. It’s not different for me to be a woman now so hopefully I’m the first of many.”
Schultz is based at Monmouth with 60 horses. The home-field advantage also seemed to benefit the two regular Monmouth jockeys in the race, Vargas and Paco Lopez aboard Napoleon Solo. Their knowledge of the track helped them find the right paths over the sloppy going - a surface neither horse had encountered before in a race. This was only the sixth sloppy track in Haskell history and the first time the track came up wet on Monmouth Park’s biggest day in ten years.
The Haskell win earns Baby Vino a spot in the Breeder’s Cup Classic. When asked about racing the colt in the upcoming Travers at Saratoga as well as the Breeder’s Cup later on, Schultz said she’d likely pass on the Travers. “Both those races are far away, but, I mean, we’re thrilled for the opportunity. He’s a nice horse and that was his biggest effort to date,” she said.
Baby Vino was up against multiple Kentucky Derby runners and Preakness winner Napoleon Solo - company tougher than any he has faced before, hence the long odds. Schultz said, “You can’t say, you know, ‘he just beat an average crowd.’ Yeah, these are real solid horses.”
Paying $58 to win, Baby Vino was the longest shot to win the Haskell since 1985.
Vargas, 31, shared Schultz’s excitement because he was also a first-time Grade 1 winner.
“I still can’t believe it. I have been coming to Monmouth Park every summer for the past six or seven years and this is the biggest race in New Jersey. To be able to win it is surreal,” he said.
New Jersey horse racing fans will be looking forward to see what’s to come for Baby Vino and his team, the hometown heroes that prevailed as the underdogs on this rainy but memorable Haskell Day 2026.
2026 Haskell Stakes Finish Order
Baby Vino
Napoleon Solo
Iron Honor
The Puma
Further Ado
Star Sweeper
Ocelli
Haskell Stakes payouts
1st:3Baby Vino$58.00$19.20$7.002nd:6Napoleon Solo$5.60$4.403rd:5Iron Honor$4.20- $1.00 EXACTA 3-6 $153.40
- $0.50 TRIFECTA 3-6-5 $326.75
- $0.10 SUPERFECTA 3-6-5-4 $289.95
- $1.00 DAILY DOUBLE 4-3 $40.50
- $3.00 PICK 3 5-4-3 $1,050.30
- $0.50 PICK 4 4 OF 4 1,2,4,5,6,7,10-1,5,6,9,11-2,4-3 $472.10
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Hometown heroes Baby Vino, Lindsay Schultz make Haskell Stakes history