The Excelsior Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. A Grade III event for three-year-olds and up, it is contested over a distance of one-and-one-eighth miles 9 furlong."Excelsior" is Latin for "Upward, ever upward," and is the motto of the state of New York.In 1928, when Hall of Famer Grey Lag was ten years old, he came in third.