Final Kentucky Derby 2019 prep decision made for Win Win Win

Live Oak Plantation’s Win Win Win is preparing to hit the road again, this time heading to Kentucky from his home base at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland.

“We are leaving tomorrow and should be there Wednesday morning,” trainer Mike Trombetta said Monday, with the purpose of the trip Saturday’s Grade 2, $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes offering 170 qualifying points toward the 2019 Kentucky Derby.

“It was between the Blue Grass and the Wood Memorial,” Trombetta said. “I was a little concerned about the deeper track in New York. I would get to keep the same rider (Irad Ortiz Jr.) if we did the Blue Grass, and I think that track will be a little more conducive to his style.”

Win Win Win picked up 10 points with his third-place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) in his most recent start March 9. That 10-point total puts Win Win Win at 31st on the leaderboard for the Derby, which is limited to the top 20 point earners that pass the entry box.

“He has done very well since the Tampa Bay Derby and we came back to Fair Hill because that’s home,” Trombetta said. “I kept him at Tampa after the Pasco (Jan. 19) to keep him out of the colder weather.”

Win Win Win, who set a Tampa Bay track record with his 7 ¼-length victory in the 7-furlong Pasco, had his final pre-race work Saturday at Fair Hill, going 5 furlongs in 1:01.60 over the all-weather surface.

The Blue Grass awards Derby qualifying points to its Top 4 finishers on a 100-40-20-10 basis. A victory or runner-up finish would send Win Win Win on to Churchill Downs.