Wood Memorial 2013 Results: Complete Recap of Top Finishers

Verrazano has taken one step closer to the Kentucky Derby.

With a win at the 2013 Wood Memorial, the horse remains unbeaten. He is now 4-0, putting him in great position to likely be the favorite at Churchill Downs on May 4.

Verrazano was the odds-on favorite to bring home the Wood Memorial on Saturday and duly delivered with a strong performance. John Velazquez ran a very good race. Verrazano started out behind, just waiting for the right moment to make a push.

Eventually, the horse broke away from the pack and was able to hold off any challengers.

Velazquez knew exactly when to push the horse, and the jockey knew when the horse could do it all on his own.

Vyjack, previously unbeaten before Saturday, gave Verrazano a tough challenge early in the race.

This event was billed as a battle of "V vs. V," with the two horses delivering in terms of spectacle. Vyjack was the strongest competitor against Verrazano for much of the race, only to fade down the stretch.

Eventually, he was overtaken by Normandy Invasion en route to a third-place finish.

Give credit to Javier Castellano for jockeying Normandy Invasion to second place. He helped the horse to a great push late in the race. While never offering a strong challenge to Verrazano in the race, he did have a great finish.

Chrisandthecapper was a heavy long shot going into the race. In the early stages, the horse was setting the pace and leading ahead of Verrazano. Chrisandthecapper then showed why he was a huge underdog and fell back.

This was a great win for Verrazano.

Prior to the Wood Memorial, he had had been largely untested in tough circumstances. While it's good to know for trainer Todd Pletcher how strong the horse is, he will love to see the horse can find the skill necessary to pull out the closer races. Getting the better of Vyjack was the result people needed to see to confirm exactly how good Verrazano is.

Velazquez, also jockeying Orb, will have to choose which of the horses he will ride at Churchill Downs. Should he select Verrazano, the horse will be the one to beat at the Run for the Roses.

With the Road to the Kentucky Derby, placing is imperative. Verrazano, who had already qualified, picked up 100 points. Normandy Invasion secured vital points to try to get in the Derby.

Even with the disappointing finish, Vyjack got 10 points, which makes 70 total, enough to put him over the top in terms of earning a spot at Churchill Downs.