Big Weekend of Derby Preps

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Dateline: 04/13/00

The final round of major Kentucky Derby preps is this weekend as most of the major contenders and some looking for a last shot at a trip to Louisville will be racing. The Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, and the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland will all be contested on Saturday April 15th. In addition to all three being major Triple Crown preps with long histories, the three races have also spawned a new wagering tradition, the Big 3 Pick 3 which is back again this year.

Past performances for all three races are available for free online from the Daily Racing Form here (should be up by Friday). The races will also be televised on ABC from 5:00-6:00 p.m. EST. I will be at the Blue Grass so check back on Saturday night for photos and results.

The Blue Grass Stakes

Here is the field in post position order. Distance is 1 1/8 miles and all entrants carry 123 lbs. The purse is $750,000.

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	M/L Odds
1	Settlement	St. Julien	Hennig	12-1
2	Deputy Warlock	Guidry	McPeek	15-1
3	Bare Outline	Coa	Zito	20-1
4	High Yield	Day	Lukas	5-2
5	Wheelaway	Migliore	Kimmel	12-1
6	Hal's Hope	Velez	Rose	3-1
7	More Than Ready	Velazquez	Pletcher	4-1
8	Mighty	Sellers	Brothers	2-1

Mighty
winning the Louisiana Derby

First run in 1911, the Blue Grass Stakes has yielded 22 Kentucky Derby winners as well as many others who did well in the Triple Crown races. This year it has attracted a stellar field with many of the top Derby contenders entered, making it the best of the three races today. Four of the entrants are in the top 10 three year olds poll with Mighty being in position #3 behind The Deputy and Fusaichi Pegasus. This race is so competitive that it will be quite difficult to pick a winner. Maybe just pick the one at the longest odds among the top 4 and bet him or hope that Wheelaway can live up to some of his hype and take a chance on him.

The Arkansas Derby

Here is the field in post position order. Distance is 1 1/8 miles and all entrants carry 118 lbs except Afternoon Affair, Ronton, Elite Mercedes, Snuck In, and Scottish Halo who carry 122 lbs. The purse is $500,000.

# / PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	M/L Odds
1 / 1	Afternoon Affair	Judice	Holthus	20-1
1A / 3	Here Comes Rocket	Quinonez	Holthus	20-1
2 / 2	Ronton	Gomez	Cerin	10-1
3 / 4	Fan The Flame	Court	Morse	20-1
4 / 5	Country Coast	Borel	Amoss	20-1
5 / 6	Elite Mercedes	Bailey	Walden	4-1
6 / 7	Impeachment	Perret	Pletcher	20-1
7 / 9	Snuck In	Asmussen	Asmussen	2-1
8 / 10	Graeme Hall	Albarado	Pletcher	10-1
9 / 11	Polish Miner	Smith	McGaughey	5-1
10 / 12	Scottish Halo	Turner	Rizzo	12-1
11 / 13	True Confidence	Nakatani	Lukas	6-1
12 / 8	Timber Wolf	Doocy	Von Hemel	30-1
12 / 14	Crystal Gulch	Whitney	Jayaraman	30-1

Elite Mercedes
at the Spiral Stakes

Horses from all over have converged on Hot Springs to take one last shot at a chance to go to the Kentucky Derby making it one of the largest fields in years. First run in 1936, the Arkansas Derby has produced some nice horses in recent years like Victory Gallop, Grindstone, Concern, and Lil E. Tee. This year it looks like late bloomer and local hero Snuck In is the logical choice, having won more races and money than anyone else. Although Elite Mercedes was unable to hold off Globalize in the Spiral Stakes, he could move forward off that start and be a contender. There are a few others who are trying to get back on the Triple Crown track after some setbacks like Polish Miner and Scottish Halo and a whole herd of long shots. I suspect one of those will get in there and make the exotics pay big but which one is a good question!

The Wood Memorial

Here is the field in post position order. Distance is 1 1/8 miles and all entrants carry 123 lbs. The purse is $750,000 plus a $250,000 bonus if the winner also wins the Kentucky Derby.

PP	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	M/L Odds
1	Cat's at Home	Davis	Hennig	50-1
2	Red Bullet	Solis	Orseno	4-1
3	Postponed	Santos	Schulhofer	15-1
4	Aptitude	Blanc	Frankel	5-1
5	Fusaichi Pegasus	Desormeaux	Drysdale	4-5
6	Appearing Now	Luzzi	Ortiz	20-1
7	Exchange Rate	Chavez	Lukas	5-1
8	Traditionally	Prado	McGaughey	20-1
9	Country Only	Castillo	Binn	12-1
10	Fight for Ally	Gryder	Everett	30-1
11	Painted Pistol	Bridgmohan	Campo	50-1
12	Connect	Velasquez	Saunders	50-1

Fusaichi Pegasus
courtesy of Patty Yount

First run in 1925, 11 Wood Memorial winners have won the Kentucky Derby. This year the current Derby favorite, Fusaichi Pegasus, is making his first East coast start in the Wood. He has won impressively in California and if he is all people are making him out to be, he should easily win here. The rest of the field is mostly horses with potential that hasn't been realized yet so if he doesn't like the deeper track in New York, there could be an upset. Of course this is not the race they really want to win with him so all they may want here is a good showing for him that will put him along the right track for Kentucky and not take too much out of him. Aptitude, Exchange Rate, Red Bullet, and even Postponed could jump up here and win given luck and an off day for FuPeg.