Final Big Derby Prep Weekend

Dateline: 04/12/00

Monarchos will be trying to repeat his Florida Derby performance in the Wood Memorial.

The final round of major prep races for the Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown takes place this Saturday, April 14th. Keeneland offers up the Blue Grass Stakes, a Grade 1 event with several top contenders including Dollar Bill, Millennium Wind, AP Valentine, and Hero's Tribute. Aqueduct will feature the Grade 2 Wood Memorial, which has Florida Derby winner Monarchos taking on Bob Baffert trainee Congaree and the Gotham Stakes winner Richly Blended. At Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Arkansas, is the Grade 2 Arkansas Derby in which Spiral Stakes winner Balto Star and also-ran Mongoose will face off again. Finally, Bay Meadows has the California Derby with Arizona-based Startac trying to earn a trip to Kentucky.

A special "Big Three Pick Three" wager will be available on the Blue Grass, Arkansas Derby, and Wood Memorial. The races will be televised in a live half hour show Saturday afternoon from 5:30-6:00pm EDT on ESPN then a full hour show from 9:00-10:00pm on ESPN2. Here are the fields for the Big Three with morning line odds where available plus links to the entries for the California Derby. Other useful info for each, including past performances and selections, are given as well.

Blue Grass Stakes (G1)

Purse: $750,000     Distance: 1 1/8 miles

Prog. #	Weight	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	M/L Odds
1	123	Invisible Ink	Pletcher	Velazquez	3-1
2	123	Millennium Wind	Hofmans	Pincay	4-1
3	123	Hero's Tribute	Ward	Bailey	3-1
4	123	Dollar Bill	Stewart	Day	9-5
5	123	Bonnie Scot	Anderson	Kuntzweiler	30-1
6	123	Songandaprayer	Dowd	Prado	6-1
7	123	A P Valentine	Zito	Nakatani	5-2

Free past performances from Equibase
Free past performances from DRF
Glenners' Picks (available late Friday)
Live audio/video online
Results chart

Wood Memorial (G2)

Purse: $750,000     Distance: 1 1/8 miles

Prog. #	Weight	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	M/L Odds
1	123	Paging	Conners	Lopez	30-1
2	123	Monarchos	Ward	Chavez	4-5
3	123	Voodoo	Jerkens	Castillo	20-1
4	123	It's So Simple	Zito	Gryder	10-1
5	123	Congaree	Baffert	Espinoza	8-5
6	123	Richly Blended	Perkins	Wilson	5-1

Free past performances from Equibase
Free past performances from DRF
Glenners' Picks (available late Friday)
Live audio online
Results chart

Arkansas Derby (G2)

Purse: $500,000     Distance: 1 1/8 miles

Prog. #	Weight	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	M/L Odds
1	122	Son of Rocket		Borel
2	118	Strike It Smart		Albarado
3	118	Royal Spy		Lovato
4	118	True Concern		Martin
5	122	Mongoose		Davis
6	122	Crafty Shaw		Johnson
7	118	Arctic Boy		St. Julien
8	118	American Prince		Woolsey
9	122	Jamaican Rum		Delahoussaye
10	118	Firststatedeposit		Court
11	122	Balto Star		Guidry
12	118	Faiths Wish		Doocy

Free past performances from DRF
Glenners' Picks (available late Friday)
Live audio/video online
Results chart

California Derby

Purse: $200,000     Distance: 1 1/8 miles

Entries and morning line odds from Equibase
Free past performances from DRF
Live audio online
Results chart

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All photos by the author.

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