Takeaways from this week on the Kentucky Derby 2020 trail

A pair of points-paying 2020 Kentucky Derby preps are on the docket for Saturday, with plenty to look forward to in this weekly rundown on the latest from the trail…

Futurity remains Grade 1-caliber

The 1 1/16-mile distance, $300,000 in purse money and Derby qualifying points awarded on a 10-4-2-1 scale from Saturday’s Los Alamitos Futurity have all remained the same as in 2018.

Yet the Futurity will renew this weekend as a Grade 2 event, downgraded in 2019 due to whatever whim the committee felt when also relegating two-turn dirt events such as Churchill Downs’ Stephen Foster and Belmont Park’s Beldame Stakes.

The decision couldn’t have been due to field size, as the companion event for 2-year-old fillies on Saturday’s card, the Starlet Stakes, has remained a Grade 1 with the same issue. And you can’t blame the Futurity’s recent productivity.

This race last year produced the eventual Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes favorite Improbable. Previous winners Dortmund (2014), Mor Spirit (2015) and McKinize (2017) all went on to win other Grade 1 races, while Mastery (2016) took San Felipe before retirement due to injury.

Board hitters since the Futurity moved from Hollywood Park include Derby runner-up Firing Line, Blue Grass hero Irap, Derby fourth-place finisher Instilled Regard and multiple stakes winner Mucho Gusto.

If the downgrade in class lasts, it will be after a compact but highly regarded field breaks Saturday. Anneau d’Or enters off a runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Wrecking Crew is multiple Grade 1-placed, and High Velocity just won Del Mar’s Bob Hope Stakes (G3). Count impressive maiden winners Honor A. P. And Thousand Words among the probables, too.

Mistakes happen. Ideally, though, when the American Graded Stakes Committee unveils adjustments for 2020, this one won’t happen twice.

Two for the Kentucky Derby Radar

No Getting Over Me, a bargain $17,000 purchase, flashed some obvious talent last Friday at Tampa Bay Downs, where he drew off to win his debut by 9 3/4 lengths. That quickly got trainer Gerald Bennett talking about his chances at the Tampa Bay Derby (G2), a race that’s essentially a win-and-you’re-in prep for the Kentucky Derby.

• More on No Getting Over Me

On Sunday, the $2 million New York-bred Chestertown began to make good on that price tag when he rolled from just off the pace to break his maiden at second asking. There are state-bred stakes options should he stay up north, but Terry Finley, CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds, envisions sending this one to Fair Grounds with trainer Steve Asmussen’s top string.

• More on Chestertown

 
Top Kentucky Derby headlines

• Aqueduct’s Jerome Stakes next for Independence Hall

• Tiz the Law receives some new prep plans

• Report: Baffert swaps Eight Rings out of Futurity

A look at Kentucky Derby odds

Via VSiN’s Ron Flatter, based in Las Vegas, the full list including prices updated after the close of Sunday’s Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 1

Upcoming Kentucky Derby preps

The Futurity, which draws Wednesday, may pick up a contender here or there before Wednesday’s draw. For now, the known probables:

Aqueduct also hosts the Remsen Stakes (G2) on Saturday, another 10-4-2-1 points prep but run at 1 1/8 miles. It’s lacking a superstar 2-year-old, but Bill Mott-trained Forza Di Oro looked like the real deal when breaking his maiden last out.

Current Kentucky Derby leaderboard