Kentucky Derby Blog

The Kentucky Oaks 137 Graded Stakes Earnings will likely determine the participants in the 137th running of the $1 million Kentucky Oaks on Friday, May 6.

The Kentucky Oaks field is limited to 14 starters and R Heat Lightning, trained by Todd Pletcher is the likely Kentucky Oaks favorite.

Here is the list of 2011 Kentucky Oaks contenders by Graded Earnings.

Churchill Downs historically has kicked off its spring race meet one week before the Kentucky Derby, but this year they’re making a much bigger deal of it–they’re running a full card under their recently installed lights that will be headlined by the $200,000 Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial.

First post time for the 11-race program, which kicks off the Churchill Downs’ 39-day spring meeting, will be 6 p.m. EDT with the Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial going off as the eighth race on the card with a 9:39 p.m. post time.

In theory, the Derby Trial is supposed to be a last shot for horses to qualify for the Kentucky Derby but even for a winning entry it would be a very long shot to make the field one week later. Still, the Derby Trial is attractive not only for its association with the most famous race in the sport but also it’s generous prize money. Furthermore, it’s a good springboard for a horse looking to compete in the Preakness Stakes or Belmont later this summer.

Here are the contenders for Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial.

With fewer than two weeks remaining until the Kentucky Derby, Robert LaPenta’s Dialed In remains the top choice in the Thoroughbred Times Road to the Triple Crown poll of editors, reporters, and correspondents, for the third consecutive week after dislodging Uncle Mo following nine weeks on top of the poll.

Jaycito, who was ranked eighth on last week’s Triple Crown poll, was withdrawn from the Kentucky Derby, due to its battling a foot bruise for several weeks.

Here is the Triple Crown poll results for racing through April 24.
1. Dialed In
2. Uncle Mo
3. Toby’s Corner
4. Archarcharch
5. Mucho Macho Man
6. Nehro
7. Midnight Interlude
8. Soldat
9. Animal Kingdom
10. Stay Thirsty

Derby Kitten, with Julien Leparoux aboard, won the $200,000 Lexington Stakes, surging past the leaders in the stretch in the rain at Keeneland. Making his first start on a synthetic surface, the turf colt produced a strong stretch kick for Julien Leparoux and returned $20.40, $6.60 and $3.60 at odds of 9-1.

Despite his impressive performance, the Lexington marked his graded debut, so his winner’s check of $120,000 is his sum total of graded earnings. Barring a flurry of last-minute defections, the Mike Maker trainee has little chance of making it into the Kentucky Derby field.

Nor will the Lexington offer much more help to Silver Medallion, who was aiming to book his spot in the Kentucky Derby. Silver Medallion ranked 24th on the graded earnings list going into the weekend’s races, with $184,334 to his credit, and hoped to pad his bankroll with a top effort here. But Silver Medallion didn’t help his cause after all, winding up fourth as the 6-5 favorite, and pocketing only $10,000.

2011 Coolmore Lexington Stakes (Grade III) takes place at Keeneland on April 23rd, 2011. It is race 9 and the post time is 5:20 PM.

With being downgraded from a grade II to a grade III this year and the purse reduced from $300,000 to $200,000 this year, the Lexington is more likely, for most, to serve as a possible prep for the Preakness in four weeks. But Silver Medallion among the six entered has a realistic chance to make the Derby starting gate. None of the remaining five Lexington entrants have any significant graded earnings.

Check out the contenders, post positions, and morning line odds.

The 136th Preakness Stakes, the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown, takes place at Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore on May 21, 2011. The Preakness Stakes is race 9 and the post positions will be drawn on Wednesday in a week of the race. The field of Preakness is limited to 14 horses.

The NBC Sports Group will broadcast all three legs of horse racing’s prestigious Triple Crown, renewing the rights to the Preakness Stakes and reacquiring rights to the Belmont Stakes.

Archarcharch and Brilliant Speed jumped up after winning the Arkansas Derby and The Blue Grass Stakes respectively. Kentucky Derby 2011 contenders by graded earnings as of April 18th.

Brilliant Speed punched his ticket for the Kentucky Derby with a thrilling stretch run to win the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland.

The $450,000 winner’s check gives Brilliant Speed more than enough graded-stakes earnings to earn a spot in next month’s Run for the Roses. Ridden by Joel Rosario and trained by Tom Albertrani, Brilliant Speed covered the 1 1-8 miles on Keeneland’s Polytrack in 1:50.92 and paid $40.20, $20.80 and $13. Twinspired and jockey Robby Albarado paid $21.20 and $11.80 for second, while King Congie paid $8.80 for third.

Blue Grass Stakes 2011 race replay

Uncle Mo arrived under the twin spires on Monday afternoon following an eventful trip from New York. Uncle Mo will gallop on Tuesday morning for trainer Todd Pletcher, though his status for the Run for the Roses on May 7 remains unclear. Tests following a disappointing third-place finish in the Wood Memorial on April 9 discovered a gastrointestinal infection.

Pletcher says the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner will undergo two workouts before making a Derby decision.

Uncle Mo joins stablemate Stay Thirsty, Repole Stable’s winner of the Gotham, among five Kentucky Derby contenders now on the grounds and those horses will bid to give Pletcher his second consecutive victory in the Kentucky Derby. Pletcher picked up his first Derby victory last year with WinStar Farm’s Super Saver.

Archarcharch won the Arkansas Derby at 25-1 and heavy pre-race favorite The Factor finished seventh. The Factor entered with three wire-to-wire wins, but he fell behind the early pace of J P’s Gusto and Dance City.

Archarcharch finished 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.34 and returned $52.40, $16.80 and $8.20 and topped exotics worth $416.80 (exacta), $10,565.80 (trifecta) and $59,987.60 (9-2-8 superfecta). Nehro paid $9 and $5.60 for finishing second and Dance City paid $14.20 in third.

A debut second at Churchill Downs in November, Archarcharch graduated by 1 3/4 lengths in the Sugar Bowl S. at Fair Grounds the following month. Off that six-furlong score, Archarcharch was the even-money favorite in the January 17 Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn, but wilted to fourth after pressing the pace. He rebounded to take the Southwest S. (G3) by a length at 14-1, then ran an even third behind The Factor when 6 1/2 lengths behind that one in last month’s Rebel S. (G2). The dark bay colt’s record now stands at 6-3-1-1, $832,744.

Arkansas Derby race replay