The three featured KY Derby prep races are Friday’s John Battaglia Memorial and Saturday’s Southwest and Fountain of Youth Stakes. These three races award a total of 119 points. Some contenders have already hit the KY Derby leaderboard, others have yet to break their maiden and there are all varieties of skill in between.
First, it’s riders up in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes! On 2/26/21, Turfway Park in Florence, KY will host this KY Derby prep race. Inaugurated in 1982, this stakes was named for John Battaglia, the former general manager at both Latonia and Miles Park race tracks and father of track announcer and oddsmaker, Mike Battaglia. It is the very first time that the John Battaglia Memorial has been part of The Road to The Kentucky Derby. The race is 1 and 1/16th miles (8.5 furlongs) on a synthetic track. It is for 3 year-old Thoroughbreds and carries a purse of $100,000. Points will be awarded 10-4-2-1 to the first four finishers of the race, respectively. There are 12 post positions, with an additional also-eligible entry. The race posts at 8:16 pm ET. It is race 5 on a card of 8. Here are the entries by post/horse/jockey/trainer/morning-line odds:
- Gretzky The Great/Gerardo Corrales/Mark Casse/3-1
- The Predicament/Rafael Hernandez/Timothy Hamm/20-1
- Twirling Mamba/Albin Jimenez/John Ortiz/10-1
- Like The King/Rafael Bejarano/Wesley Ward/7-2
- Kinetic Sky/Deshawn Parker/Brad Cox/9-2
- Pico d’Oro/John McKee/William Morey/8-1
- Hard Rye Guy/Chris Landeros/Ian Wilkes/15-1
- Hush Of A Storm/Santiago Gonzalez/William Morey/10-1
- Fort Moultrie/Rodney Prescott/J. McGaughey/20-1
- Notable Exception/Declan Cannon/Jack Sisterson/30-1
- Catman/Emmanuel Esquivel/Michael Maker/15-1
- Warrier In Chief/Robby Albarado/Kenneth McPeek/8-1
- (also-eligible) Bakwena/Rodney Prescott/Darrin Miller/20-1
Saturday, 2/27/21 features the final two KY Derby prep races of February. Only minutes between and yet miles apart, these races should make for an exciting evening. Tune in for the full cards and your day is set!
Rescheduled for weather, the Grade III Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, AR is finally set to race. This race was inaugurated in 1968. It is a 1 and 1/16 miles (8.5 furlongs) dirt race for 3 year-old thoroughbreds with a purse of $750,000 and awarding 10-4-2-1 KY Derby points. Gaining interest with each postponement, 7 are entered. Several are in the top ten of the KY Derby leaderboard already. Race 10 on a card of 11 posts at 5:58 pm ET. Here are the contenders:
- Essential Quality/Luis Saez/Brad Cox/3-2
- Saffa’s Day/Ricardo Santana, Jr./Steven Asmussen/10-1
- Last Samurai/Jon Court/Dallas Stewart/12-1
- Jackie’s Warrior/Joel Rosario/Steven Asmussen/8-5
- Santa Cruiser/Ricahrd Eramia/John Desormeaux/12-1
- Woodhouse/David Cabrera/C.R. Trout/8-1
- Spielberg/Martin Garcia/Bob Baffert/9-2
Next up, the big points race of the week is the G II Fountain of Youth Stakes! Raced at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, FL. Inaugurated in 1945 this race is 1 and 1/16 miles (8.5 furlongs) on dirt. It is also a 3 year-old thoroughbred race and it carriers a purse of $300,000. 50-20-10-5 points are awaiting the top finishers. Race 14, the last of the card, posts at 6:10 pm ET with 10 entries. Check out this field:
- Drain The Clock/Edgard Zayas/Saffie Joseph Jr./5-1
- Prime Factor/Irad Ortiz, Jr./Todd Pletcher/5-1
- Sososubtle/Paco Lopez/Armando De La Cerda/20-1
- Fire At Will/Kendrick Carmouche/Michael Maker/7-2
- Jirafales/Javier Castellano/Gustavo Delgado/20-1
- King’s Ovation/Corey Lanerie/Dale Romans/15-1
- Tarantino/Tyler Gaffalione/Rodolphe Brisset/8-1
- Greatest Honour/Jose Ortiz/Claude McGaughey III/9-5
- Tiz Tact Toe/Rajiv Maragh/Robert Hess, Jr./30-1
- Papetu/Junior Alvarado/Antonio Sano/15-1
There are sure to be a lot of changes on the leaderboard following this tough schedule. I am very excited to see the talent race into those 20 coveted spots in the KY Derby. Some of these contenders have earned points in multiple preps before and many are fresh to the sport. I am also intrigued by the names of both the familiar and less known connections. There are jockeys and trainers that are new to me and some big names that seem surprisingly under represented thus far. Expectations are high for these three for the road, Kentucky Derby preps!
Please, continue to check back and share Thoroughbred U as there will be more stories leading up to an beyond the 147th Kentucky Derby. Thank you and enjoy the races!
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