The Field for Kentucky Derby 148 is set, kind of
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are only 19 days away from Kentucky Derby 148. For the first time in three years the Churchill Downs grandstands will be full for the first Saturday in May. The buzz around the city of Louisville is palpable as the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field nears completion.
Saturday afternoon Tawny Port won the Grade III Lexington Stakes, the final prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, with Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard at Keeneland. The victory gave the Jeff Ruby Steaks runner-up 20 points to solidify its spot in the field for Kentucky Derby 148. Joining Zozos and Cyberknife, Louisville trainer and Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox now has three horses in the top 20. Cox is the first ever Louisville native to train a Kentucky Derby Champion, but last year’s win for Mandaloun was by disqualification and is still being argued by Bob Baffert’s attorneys.
The lengthy Road to the Kentucky Derby has reached a conclusion after points were divvied out at almost 50 different prep races. Epicenter is atop the leaderboard after wins in the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby. Trained by Steve Asmussen, he has the most wins by a trainer in North America, yet Asmussen has never won the Fastest Two Minutes in Sports.
Final Kentucky Derby 148 Leaderboard
| Rk. | Horse | Pts. | Trainer | *Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Epicenter | 164 | Steve Asmussen | $940,000 |
| 2 | Zandon | 114 | Chad Brown | $663,500 |
| 3 | White Abarrio | 112 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $769,650 |
| 4 | Mo Donegal | 112 | Todd Pletcher | $561,500 |
| 5 | Tiz the Bomb | 110 | Kenny McPeek | $1,012,610 |
| 6 | Cyberknife | 100 | Brad Cox | $752,000 |
| 7 | Crown Pride | 100 | Koichi Shintani | $671,544 |
| 8 | Taiba | 100 | Tim Yakteen | $450,000 |
| 9 | Simplification | 74 | Antonio Sano | $482,150 |
| 10 | Smile Happy | 70 | Kenny McPeek | $499,410 |
| 11 | Tawny Port | 60 | Brad Cox | $351,400 |
| 12 | Barber Road | 58 | John Ortiz | $589,700 |
| 13 | Un Ojo | 54 | Ricky Courville | $661,250 |
| 14 | Early Voting | 50 | Chad Brown | $277,500 |
| 15 | Morello | 50 | Steve Asmussen | $242,500 |
| 16 | Messier | 40 | Tim Yakteen | $390,000 |
| 17 | Zozos | 40 | Brad Cox | $200,000 |
| 18 | Summer Is Tomorrow | 40 | Bhupat Seemar | $200,000 |
| 19 | Charge It | 40 | Todd Pletcher | $188,000 |
| 20 | Happy Jack | 30 | Doug O’Neill | $142,000 |
| 21 | Pioneer of Medina | 25 | Todd Pletcher | $116,000 |
| 22 | In Due Time | 24 | Kelly Breen | $113,800 |
| 23 | Ethereal Road | 22 | D. Wayne Lukas | $231,000 |
| 24 | Rich Strike | 21 | Eric Reed | $74,500 |
| 25 | Rattle N Roll | 20 | Kenny McPeek | $356,500 |
| 26 | Skippylongstocking | 20 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $86,350 |
| 27 | Major General | 18 | Todd Pletcher | $251,525 |
| 28 | Golden Glider | 15 | Mark Casse | $87,250 |
| *Non-restricted stakes |
Just because a horse is in the Top 20, doesn’t mean its ownership group is going to race it in the Kentucky Derby. They may choose to save it for later, race it on the undercard at a shorter distance (like the Pat Day Mile) or a late illness/injury could create a scratch, paving the way for those outside of the Top 20 to climb into the field. Most folks in the know doubt Early Voting will in fact be in the gate for the big race.
To get a better idea of who is in contention, Circa Sports and Caesar Sports at William Hill have early odds on who will win the Running of the Roses May 7. Each year folks say, “This race is wide open.” Only four horses have single-digit odds right now, making this race truly wide open.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard