Keeneland: Bullard leads 9 rising 3-year-olds in Lexington

Bullard headlines a field of nine entered Saturday for the 43rd running of the $400,000 Lexington (G3) for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

The Lexington is the final stop on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with 42 qualifying points available on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale to the first- through fifth-place finishers. It is unlikely that any of the runners in the Lexington will qualify for the Kentucky Derby on points, but the race could produce some contenders for the Preakness Stakes or Belmont Stakes, or major 3-year-old races further on in the year.

The Lexington will go as the ninth race on the 11-race Saturday, April 12 program with a 5:16 p.m. EDT post time. First post is 1 p.m. EDT.

Trained by Michael McCarthy for owners Talla Racing, St. Elias Stables, Three Chimneys Farm and West Point Thoroughbreds, Bullard has won two of three races with a victory in the Bob Hope (G3) at Del Mar last fall. In his 2025 debut, Bullard was third behind Barnes in the San Vicente (G2). Umberto Rispoli has the mount from post 3. The Lexington will be the first two-turn try for this son of Gun Runner.

Despite being the only graded-stakes winner in the field, however, the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Lexington is Praetor for trainer Chad Brown and owners  William H. Lawrence, CHP Racing and Gainesway Stable. Praetor has won two of his three career starts. Most recently, he romped by 7 1/2 lengths in a one-mile allowance-optional claiming race at Gulfstream. The son of Into Mischief stretches out to two turns for the first time in the Lexington.