Kentucky Derby Blog

Running near the front for most of the race, Plum Pretty took over at the top of the stretch and held off a hard charging St. John’s River by a neck to win the Kentucky Oaks on Friday at Churchill Downs. It is Baffert’s second Oaks win with Silverbulletday in 1999

“She was supposed to bounce today and today she bounced into the winner’s circle,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “Everything worked out perfectly.”

Zazu finished third and Oaks favorite Joyful Victory finished fourth. Plum Pretty returned $14.60, $7 and $4.60. St. John’s River paid $13.20 and $7.20 in finishing 2 ½ lengths ahead of Zazu and Joel Rosario, who paid $4 to show.

The $1 million race drew a crowd of 110,122, which was the third-largest Oaks Day crowd.

Jones’ filly drew the No. 1 post position Tuesday and was made the 5-2 morning-line favorite for Friday’s $1 million, Grade I Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Joyful Victory, who will be ridden by Mike Smith, is one of 13 fillies entered for the Oaks, scheduled for a 5:45 p.m. post time. Versus will handle the TV coverage from 5-6 p.m.

Here is the complete list of 2011 Kentucky Oaks contenders.

PP	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Winning Odds
1	Joyful Victory	ME Smith	JL Jones	5-2
2	Lilacs and Lace	J Castellano	J P Terranova	12-1
3	Summer Soiree	G Saez	HG Motion	5-1
4	Kathmanblu	JR Leparoux	KG McPeek	4-1
5	Suave Voir Faire	M Mena	DM Smithwick Jr.	50-1
6	Zazu	J Rosario	JW Sadler	4-1
7	Her Smile	GK Gomez	TA Pletcher	20-1
8	Bouquet Booth	R Albarado	S Margolis	20-1
9	Daisy Devine	J Graham	A McKeever	20-1
10	Street Storm	S Bridgmohan	S Margolis	50-1
11	Holy Heavens	KJ Desormeaux	B Chatters	50-1
12	Plum Pretty	M Garcia	B Baffert	5-1
13	St. John’s River	R Napravnik	A Leggio Jr.	30-1

R Heat Lightning was declared out of Friday’s Kentucky Oaks after heat was detected in her right front leg.

R Heat Lightning was expected to be among the favorites for the Kentucky Oaks. She appeared to jog fine over the Churchill Downs track in the morning but was found to be ailing shortly upon her return to the shedrow.

“We noticed back at the barn that she seemed to be just a little off in her right front,” Pletcher said. “We checked her and could feel some heat in her right knee. We consulted with her owner’s people and the decision was made to withdraw her from the race.”

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.

Rank	Horse	Graded Stakes Earnings	Trainer
1.	R Heat Lightning	$910,000	Todd Pletcher
2.	Joyful Victory	$345,000	Larry Jones
3.	Kathmanblu	$328,525	Ken McPeek
4.	Bouquet Booth	$326,000	Steve Margolis
5.	Daisy Devine	$300,000	Andrew McKeever
6.	Lilacs and Lace	$244,750	John Terranova II
7.	Delightful Mary	$244,501	Mark Casse
8.	Zazu	$238,185	John Sadler
9.	St. John’s River	$100,000	Andy Leggio Jr.
10.	Arienza	$60,000	Danny Peitz
11.	Summer Soiree	$58,900	Graham Motion
12.	Holy Heavens	$55,000	Benard Chatters
13.	Inglorious	$50,000	Josie Carroll
14.	Plum Pretty	$48,000	Bob Baffert
15.	Suave Voir Faire	$25,552	Speedy Smithwick Jr.
16.	Royal Delta	$0	Bill Mott
17.	Street Storm	$0	Steve Margolis

Grade 2 heroine KATHMANBLU (Bluegrass Cat) was the decisive choice when wagering closed Sunday on the lone three-day betting pool for Churchill Downs’ 2011 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager

The Ken McPeek-trained Kathmanblu ended up as a clear 7-2 favorite among 24 betting interests in the March 11-13 pool. A $2 win wager placed on the daughter of 2006 Kentucky Derby runner-up Bluegrass Cat will return $9.40 if she wins the Kentucky Oaks.

Kentucky Oaks had fans wagered $92,902 during the three-day pool, including $29,098 in exacta bets, when the Oaks Future betting concluded Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. (EDT).

Here is the complete list of the 24 betting interests for the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager odds.

#	Horses	Morning line	11-Mar	12-Mar	Final	Will Pay
1	A Z Warrior	15-1	18-1	23-1	28-1	$59.00
2	Big Tiz	20-1	52-1	32-1	38-1	$79.60
3	Bouquet Booth	20-1	15-1	39-1	41-1	$85.00
4	Dancinginherdreams	10-1	11-1	9-1	10-1	$22.40
5	Delightful Mary	15-1	14-1	21-1	24-1	$51.00
6	Harlan’s Ruby	20-1	57-1	58-1	84-1	$170.20
7	Holy Heavens	50-1	72-1	91-1	82-1	$166.00
8	Inglorious	30-1	18-1	28-1	23-1	$49.00
9	It’s Tricky	10-1	28-1	19-1	10-1	$23.60
10	Joyful Victory	20-1	27-1	10-1	7-1	$17.80
11	Kathmanblu	12-1	5-1	9-2	7-2	$9.40
12	Mildly Offensive	50-1	17-1	27-1	51-1	$104.80
13	Miss Smarty Pants	50-1	32-1	34-1	44-1	$91.40
14	Oh Carole	50-1	44-1	42-1	54-1	$111.40
15	Pomeroys Pistol	30-1	99-1	99-1	127-1	$256.20
16	R Heat Lightning	8-1	12-1	7-1	9-1	$20.00
17	Rigoletta	30-1	50-1	45-1	56-1	$115.00
18	Royal Delta	20-1	27-1	28-1	37-1	$77.40
19	Salty Strike	30-1	93-1	89-1	100-1	$203.00
20	Snow Fall	50-1	55-1	59-1	56-1	$115.40
21	Summer Soiree	50-1	67-1	87-1	55-1	$113.00
22	Wyomia	50-1	59-1	36-1	24-1	$50.00
23	Zazu	8-1	9-2	5-1	7-1	$16.00
24	Mutuel Field (All Other 3YO Fillies)	5-2	6-1	8-1	9-1	$21.80

Blind Luck the favorite 6-5 won by a nose at Kentucky Oaks 2010.

All sources wagering on the Kentucky Oaks, America’s premier race for 3-year-old-fillies, was $10.6 million, a 55 percent increase over the 2009 total. All sources wagering on the 2010 Kentucky Oaks Day card was $36.0 million, a 20 percent increase over the 2009 total, and the all-time record.

Today’s win by Blind Luck, owned by Mark DeDomenico, John Carver, Peter Abruzzo and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, is Hollendorfer’s third as a trainer and second as a co-owner. He won the Oaks in 1991 with Lite Light, and again in 1996 with Pike Place Dancer.

Blind Luck, sent off as the 6-5 favorite, returned $4.60, $3.60 and $2.80. Evening Jewel paid $9.40 and $7.20 with Tidal Pool returning $5 to show. Completing the field in order were Beautician, Ailalea, Amen Hallelujah, Crisp, Quiet Temper, It’s Tea Time, Joanie’s Catch, Champagne d’Oro, Age of Humor, Jody Slew and Bella Diamante.

This morning, fourteen three year old fillies drew into the field for Friday’s Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks. Blind Luck is your morning line favorite at 6/5, with Crisp, Tidal Pool, and Amen Hallelujah sharing the second spot at 8/1. As expected, Todd Pletcher’s Devil May Care did not cross-enter into the Oaks and is only targeting Saturday’s Derby.

The post time for 2010 Kentucky Oaks is 5:45 pm EST at Churchill Downs and it is the race 11. It will be live broadcast on Bravo tv at 5:00-6:00pm.

Grade 1, $584,300 Kentucky Oaks

Post	Horse	Jockey	M/L Odds
1	It’s Tea Time	Alan Garcia	15-1
2	Jody Slew	Miguel Mena	30-1
3	Quiet Temper	Robby Albarado	10-1
4	Age of Humor	Rajiv Maragh	30-1
5	Blind Luck	Rafael Bejarano	6-5
6	Beautician	Alex Solis	15-1
7	Crisp	Joel Rosario	8-1
8	Tidal Pool	Calvin Borel	8-1
9	Bella Diamante	Mike Smith	30-1
10	Champagne d’Oro	Martin Garcia	30-1
11	Evening Jewel	Kent Desormeaux	10-1
12	Ailalea	John Velazquez	15-1
13	Amen Hallelujah	Julien Leparoux	8-1
14	Joanie’s Catch	Paco Lopez	30-1