The Road to Kentucky Derby 2021 — after 17 prep races
Wins by Risk Taking and Candy Man Rocket in Saturday's 2021 Kentucky Derby prep races — the Withers and the Sam F. Davis, respectively — didn't earn them enough points to crack the top 10 on the leaderboard.
But Capo Kane's third-place finish in the Withers, following his win in the Jerome, moved him up to No. 7 on the board.
The top 10 soon will be upended, though, with Saturday's Risen Star (G2) at Fair Grounds offering 50-20-10-5 points to the top four finishers. Among the colts entered for the prep are Keepmeinmind, who has 18 Derby points, Midnight Bourbon (16), Proxy (4), Mandaloun (2) and Santa Cruiser (1).
[RELATED: Risen Star attracts field of 13 for G2 Kentucky Derby prep]
Connections for Keepmeinmind might opt instead to run in another Derby Prep, the Feb. 15 Southwest Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn, which offers 10-4-2-1 points. Also coming up this weekend is the El Camino Real Derby, also with 10-4-2-1 points.
Nearly halfway through the 36-race calendar, here's a look at the races so far and the next several on the calendar, with this past weekend's race in bold type.
Road to the Kentucky Derby - After 17 races
| Date | Race | Track | Distance | 1st-4th (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/5 | Iroquois | CD | 1 mile | Sittin On Go (10), Midnight Bourbon (4), Super Stock (2), Therideofalifetime (1) |
| 9/26 | American Pharoah | SA | 1 1/16 miles | Get Her Number (10), Rombauer (4), Spielberg (2), Waspirant (1) |
| 10/3 | Breeders' Futurity | Kee | 1 1/16 miles | Essential Quality (10), Keepmeinmind (4), Super Stock (2), Upstriker (1) |
| 10/10 | Champagne | Bel | 1 mile | Jackie's Warrior (10), Reinvestment Risk (4), Midnight Bourbon (2), Civil War (1) |
| 11/6 | Breeders' Cup Juvenile | Kee | 1 1/16 miles | Essential Quality (20), Hot Rod Charlie (8), Keepmeinmind (4), Jackie's Warrior (2) |
| 11/28 | Kentucky Jockey Club | CD | 1 1/16 miles | Keepmeinmind (10), Smiley Sobotka (4), Arabian Prince (2), Swill (1) |
| 12/5 | Remsen | AQU | 1 1/8 miles | Brooklyn Strong (10), Ten for Ten (4), Known Agenda (2), Pickin' Time (1) |
| 12/18 | Springboard Mile | RP | 1 mile | Senor Buscador (0), Cowan (4), Red N Wild (0), Saffa's Day (0) |
| 12/19 | Los Alamitos Futurity | LRC | 1 1/16 miles | Spielberg (10), The Great One (4), Petruchio (2), Red Flag (1) |
| 1/1 | Jerome | AQU | 1 mile | Capo Kane (10), Eagle Orb (4), Hold the Salsa (2) |
| 1/2 | Sham | SA | 1 mile | Life Is Good (10), Medina Spirit (4), Parnelli (2) |
| 1/16 | Lecomte | FG | 1 1/16 miles | Midnight Bourbon (10), Proxy (4), Mandaloun (2), Santa Cruiser (1) |
| 1/22 | Smarty Jones | OP | 1 mile | Caddo River (10), Cowan (8), Big Thorn (2), Moonlite Strike (1) |
| 1/30 | Holy Bull | GP | 1 1/16 miles | Greatest Honour (10), Tarantino (4), Prime Factor (2), Papetu (1) |
| 1/30 | Robert B. Lewis | SA | 1 1/16 miles | Medina Spirit (10), Roman Centurian (4), Hot Rod Charlie (2), Spielberg (1) |
| 2/6 | Withers | AQU | 1 1/16 miles | Risk Taking (10), Overtook (4), Capo Kane (2), +Royal Number (1) |
| 2/6 | Sam F. Davis | Tam | 1 1/16 miles | Candy Man Rocket (10), Nova Rags (4), Hidden Stash (2), +Boca Boy (1) |
| 2/13 | Risen Star | FG | 1 1/8 miles | 50-20-10-5 |
| 2/13 | El Camino Real Derby | GG | 1 1/8 miles | 10-4-2-1 |
| 2/15 | Southwest | OP | 1 1/16 miles | 10-4-2-1 |
| 2/26 | John Battaglia Memorial | TP | 1 1/16 miles | 10-4-2-1 |
| 2/27 | Fountain of Youth | GP | 1 1/16 miles | 50-20-10-5 |
Note: Senor Buscador (1st), Red N Wild (3rd) and Saffa’s Day (4th) did not accrue points in the Dec. 18 Springboard Mile because they competed with Lasix on race day.
Essential Quality retains the top spot on the leaderboard, but not for long. The most points he could pick up in the Southwest, his next expected race, is 10, and the Risen Star offers 50 points to the winner.
Also possible for the Southwest is Keepmeinmind, No. 2 on the leaderboard. He's entered in the Risen Star but is expected to opt out.
Here are the points totals, with horses who earned points this past weekend in bold.
Road to the Kentucky Derby - Points leaders
| Rank | Horse | Pts | Trainer | Stakes earnings* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Essential Quality | 30 | Brad Cox | $1,280,000 |
| 2 | Keepmeinmind | 18 | Robertino Diodoro | $379,040 |
| 3 | Midnight Bourbon | 16 | Steve Asmussen | $190,000 |
| 4 | Medina Spirit | 14 | Bob Baffert | $80,000 |
| 5 | Spielberg | 13 | Bob Baffert | $212,000 |
| 6 | Jackie's Warrior | 12 | Steve Asmussen | $457,500 |
| 7 | Capo Kane | 12 | Harold Wyner | $112,500 |
| 8 | Hot Rod Charlie | 10 | Doug O'Neill | $352,000 |
| 9 | Get Her Number | 10 | Peter Miller | $186,000 |
| 10 | Sittin On Go | 10 | Dale Romans | $141,800 |
| 11 | Risk Taking | 10 | Chad Brown | $137,500 |
| 12 | Candy Man Rocket | 10 | Bill Mott | $120,000 |
| 13 | Greatest Honour | 10 | Shug McGaughey III | $119,040 |
| 14 | Caddo River | 10 | Brad Cox | $90,000 |
| 15 | Brooklyn Strong | 10 | Daniel Velazquez | $82,500 |
| 16 | Life Is Good | 10 | Bob Baffert | $60,000 |
| 17 | Cowan | 8 | Steve Asmussen | $320,477 |
| 18 | Rombauer | 4 | Michael McCarthy | $120,500 |
| — | +Reinvestment Risk | 4 | Chad Brown | $120,000 |
| 19 | Nova Rags | 4 | Bill Mott | $76,000 |
| 20 | Super Stock | 4 | Steve Asmussen | $59,000 |
| 21 | Tarantino | 4 | Rodolphe Brisset | $58,400 |
| 22 | Overtook | 4 | Todd Pletcher | $50,000 |
| — | +Ten for Ten | 4 | Shug McGaughey III | $50,000 |
| 23 | The Great One | 4 | Doug O'Neill | $40,500 |
| — | +Eagle Orb | 4 | Rudy Rodriguez | $40,000 |
| 24 | Proxy | 4 | Mike Stidham | $40,000 |
| 25 | Smiley Sobotka | 4 | Dale Romans | $38,400 |
| 26 | Roman Centurian | 4 | Simon Callaghan | $20,000 |
| 27 | Arabian Prince | 2 | Dallas Stewart | $28,063 |
| 28 | Petruchio | 2 | Richard Mandella | $24,000 |
| 29 | Known Agenda | 2 | Todd Pletcher | $24,000 |
| 30 | Waspirant | 2 | John Shirreffs | $24,000 |
| 31 | Hidden Stash | 2 | Vicki Oliver | $20,000 |
| 32 | Mandaloun | 2 | Brad Cox | $20,000 |
| 33 | Prime Factor | 2 | Todd Pletcher | $19,200 |
| 34 | Hold the Salsa | 2 | Richard Lugovich | $19,125 |
| — | +Swill | 2 | Brad Cox | $18,600 |
| 35 | Big Thorn | 2 | Steve Asmussen | $16,000 |
| 36 | Parnelli | 2 | John Shirreffs | $14,000 |
| 37 | Pickin' Time | 1 | Kelly Breen | $157,925 |
| 38 | Red Flag | 1 | John Shirreffs | $72,000 |
| 39 | Papetu | 1 | Antonio Sano | $39,925 |
| — | +Therideofalifetime | 1 | Ignacio Correas IV | $39,500 |
| — | +Boca Boy | 1 | Cheryl Winebaugh | $24,400 |
| — | +Upstriker | 1 | Ron Moquett | $20,000 |
| — | +Civil War | 1 | Tom Albertrani | $16,875 |
| — | +Royal Number | 1 | Mike Trombetta | $15,000 |
| 40 | Santa Cruiser | 1 | Keith Desormeaux | $8,000 |
| 41 | Moonlite Strike | 1 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $7,500 |
Bold = Update from previously published Leaderboard
+ = Not Triple Crown Nominated
$ = Late Triple Crown Nominee
Italics = no recent published workout
Strikethrough = Sidelined, inactive or appears to be no longer under serious Kentucky Derby consideration.