Kentucky Derby Blog

The Fair Grounds kicks off its road to the Triple Crown with the $175,000 Grade III Lecomte Stakes, a 1 mile and 40 yard race for 3-year-olds. The post time is 4:55 CT and it is Race 11. Here is the list of the contenders with the post position and morning line odds.

Out of Bounds rallied in the stretch to beat 1-2 favorite Secret Circle by a half-length in the $100,000 Sham Stakes, the first Kentucky Derby prep of the season at Santa Anita on Saturday. 10-1 shot Out of Bounds with Garrett Gomez aboard ran a mile in 1:34.56 and paid $22.60, $5.80 and $4.40. Secret Circle, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint winner, returned $2.80 and $2.10, while Longview Drive was another half-length back in third and paid $4 to show.

Secret Circle, who led briefly into the stretch, lost for the first time in four career starts for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Watch the race replay!

Machen trained by Neil Howard and ridden by Edgar Prado, won the Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial on the opening night of the spring meet at Churchill Downs. Machen, the fifth choice at 5-1 in the field of nine, covered the mile over a fast track in 1:35.47. He returned $15.40.

Dominus was second, 21/4 lengths in front of J J’s Lucky Train. Travelin Man, the 8-5 favorite, faded to sixth.

The 87th running of the Derby Trial won’t produce a runner for Kentucky Derby for the sixth straight year since Don’t Get Mad in 2005.

Watch the race replay!

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.

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.

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

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

2011 Arkansas Derby (Grade I) takes place in Oaklawn Park on April 16, 2011. The Arkansas Derby is race 11 and the post time is 5:58 PM.

The Factor has dictated the pace in all three of his victories. Whether he will be able to do so again Saturday in the Arkansas Derby is the central question.

Here are the contenders, post positions and the morning lines.

Previously undefeated Uncle Mo, viewed throughout the winter as an overwhelming Kentucky Derby favorite and a Triple Crown threat, suffered a stunning upset when he finished third in Saturday’s $1 million Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Nothing went quite right from the moment Uncle Mo hesitated before entering the starting gate. John Velazquez, the only jockey who has ever been aboard, noted that he never felt comfortable.

“He was pulling the whole way,” Velazquez said. “He was never in a relaxed mode.”

Uncle Mo is still headed to the Kentucky Derby, health permitting, but he won’t be carrying superstar status with him. With Jaycito and Premier Pegasus withdrawn from Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby due to injuries, the Kentucky Derby field is wide open.

Here are the winners and payouts.