It begins in late summer, continues into the fall, slides into winter, and blossoms in the spring. All of the preps, the triumphs and heartache on the Road to the Kentucky Derby are in the rearview mirror. The 151st edition of the Kentucky Derby is Saturday at Churchill Downs. Here then, is a look brief look at Post Positions #8 through 14. The final six runners will be … Continue reading Kentucky Derby Preview Part II
The $400,000-dollar, Grade 3 Lexington Stakes has, in years’ past, been a last chance for a 3-year-old prospect to garner enough points to gain a spot in the Kentucky Derby. Not so this year. With just a maximum of 20 points up for grabs, the Winner of Saturday’s feature race at Keeneland will be woefully short of the cutoff to qualify for the May 3rd Run … Continue reading Who Wins The Lexington Stakes?
Barring any last-minute withdrawals, the field for Kentucky Derby 151 on May 3rd is all set. The final pieces fell into place after Tuesday’s $1.25 million dollar, Grade I Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. In that race BURNHAM SQUARE rallied from last to catch pacesetting EAST AVENUE for the Win. RIVER THAMES ran 3rd. All three of those horses earned enough qualifying points to Run … Continue reading Here’s The Derby Field…For Now.
The Blue Grass Stakes was scheduled for Saturday at Kenneland Racetrack. But with a weather forecast that calls for several days of thunderstorms and potential widespread flooding in the Lexington area, the race has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 8th. Keeneland increased the purse for the 1 1/8-mile, Grade 1 Blue Grass to a record $1.25 million dollars for 2025 and will also distribute qualifying points … Continue reading Who Wins The Blue Grass Stakes?
Saturday is the last of Gulfstream Park’s Kentucky Derby prep races. The million dollar Florida Derby will award KD qualifying points to the first five finishers on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale. Here is a brief look at the field of ten for this year’s event: 1. NEOEQUOS [ML 10-1] Jockey: Edgar Zayas. Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr. This colt has flown under the radar on the 2025 Kentucky … Continue reading Who Wins The Florida Derby?
One of the two premier prep races for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday is the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. The 1 1/8-mile contest has been very influential on the Triple Crown trail this century. Several horses have exited this race and gone on to star in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes. Most notably is 2015 Triple Crown Winner AMERICAN PHAROAH as well as last … Continue reading Who Wins The Arkansas Derby?
On Saturday Fair Grounds hosts its fourth and final qualifying points race for the Kentucky Derby. Ten 3-year-olds have been entered for the $1 million dollar, Grade 2 Louisiana Derby. The top five finishers in the contest will earn Derby points, distributed on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis. At a distance of 1 3/16 miles the Louisiana Derby is the longest North American qualifying race for the 1 … Continue reading Who Wins The Louisiana Derby?
The Virginia Derby was formerly a late-summer, headliner turf race at Colonial Downs. This year the Virginia Derby has morphed into a qualifying race for the May 3rd Kentucky Derby. The race is a one-turn, 1 1/8-mile contest with a purse of $500,000 dollars, and awards qualifying points on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale to the top five finishers. Here is a brief look at the runners: 1. CALLING CARD … Continue reading Who Wins The Virginia Derby?
OWEN ALMIGHTY Won the $350,000 dollar Tampa Bay Derby this past Saturday by 3 ½-lengths. In addition to the Winner’s share of the purse the bay colt also earned 50 points toward qualifying for the 2025 Kentucky Derby and ranks second on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 65 points in total. But does the Brian Lynch trained colt have what it takes to shine on … Continue reading Can Owen Be Almighty In The Derby?
Tampa Bays Downs has its marquee Kentucky Derby prep race Saturday. Seven 3-year-old colts are entered to compete for a total of 105 Derby points in the 45th running of the $400,000 dollar Tampa Bay Derby. The 1 1/16-mile race distributes points on a 50-25-15-10-5 basis to its top five finishers. Here is a brief look at the field: 1. OWEN ALMIGHTY [ML 5-1] Jockey: Irad Ortiz … Continue reading Who Wins The Tampa Bay Derby?
