Derby Trial Features Bayern and Spot

 

Curtis Green’s Spot, winner of the Swale Stakes (Grade II) and the Bob Baffert-trained  Bayern headline a field of 10 horses entered Wednesday for the 90^th running of the $150,000-added Derby Trial (GIII) on Saturday’s Opening Night Presented by Stella Artois and Finlandia Vodka at Churchill Downs.

 

The one-mile Derby Trial highlights the opening night of the 38-day Spring Meet, the centerpiece of which comes the following weekend with the 140^th running of the $2 million guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) on Saturday, May 3 and the 140^th running of the $1 million guaranteed Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) the day before.

 

Scheduled as the eighth race on Saturday’s 10-race program, post time for the Derby Trial is 10:01 p.m. (EDT) with first post being 6 o’clock.

 

Conditioned by two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Nick Zito, Spot finished seventh in the Florida Derby (GI) in his most recent start. John Velazquez has the mount on Spot, who will break from post position nine.

 

Bayern won his first two starts at Santa Anita before finishing third as the favorite in the Arkansas Derby (GI) in his stakes debut. Rosie Napravnik will ride Bayern and break from post position one.

 

The field for the Derby Trial, from the rail out, is as follows: Bayern (Napravnik, 118 pounds), Chitu SCRATCHED Big Sugar Soda (Ricardo Santana Jr., 118), Friendswith K Mill (Kent Desormeaux, 118), Matador (Julien Leparoux, 118),Embellishing Bob (Brian Hernandez Jr., 118), Laddie Boy (Stewart Elliott, 118), Bitters ‘n Bourbon (Corey Lanerie, 118), Spot (Velazquez, 120) and Myositis Dan (Joe Rocco Jr., 118).