Tampa Bay Downs: The $400,000 GII Tampa Bay Derby at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 50-20-10-5) by Brian Nadeau #1 Admire (12-1): Lightly-raced runner from Romans has logged some frequent flier miles this winter, as he’s been training in Florida, made his stakes debut when a decent fifth in Aqueduct’s GIII Withers last…
Aqueduct: The $300,000 GIII Gotham at 1-mile (Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 50-20-10-5) by Brian Nadeau #1 Family Biz (30-1): Ginormous longshot ran in place when fourth in the local Jimmy Winkfield last month going 7 furlongs, though his best lifetime run was a course and distance third in the Jerome on New Year’s Day, so…
Gulfstream Park: The $400,000 GII Fountain of Youth at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 50-20-10-5) by Brian Nadeau #1 Code of Honor (6-1): Well-regarded son of Noble Mission has some Jekyll and Hyde in him, as he made a lot of friends when second in the GI Champagne at Belmont Park in October,…
Oaklawn Park: The $500,000 Southwest at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) Oaklawn’s path to the Arkansas Derby begins with the pricey Southwest, which figures to be a key launching pad to the local GII Rebel next month. A potentially aggressive pace should aid the chances of California invader #7 SUENO (7-2), a…
Golden Gate Fields: The $100,000 El Camino Real Derby at 1 1/8 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) by Brian Nadeau With synthetic racing falling out of favor over the past several years, Northern California’s top Kentucky Derby prep hasn’t been much of a feeding ground to Louisville, though there are still 17 points up…
Fair Grounds: The GII, $400,000 Risen Star at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 50-20-10-5) by Brian Nadeau #1 Plus Que Parfait (10-1): The first of six who exit last month’s local prep, the GIII Lecomte, was a middling fifth in his 3-year-old debut for Walsh, after a 2-year-old campaign that ended with a…
I can’t really believe that this is the 11th year of the Brooklyn Backstretch Kentucky Derby charity league. Who would have thought, back in the early days of this blog (when it was still an actual blog), when I piggybacked off the Saratoga Special’s Derby fantasy league, run by Brian Nadeau, that we’d still be…
Tampa Bay Downs: The Grade III, $250,000 Sam F. Davis at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) by Brian Nadeau A cast of relative unknowns tries to prove their worth at Tampa, with the local Tampa Bay Derby, as well as the Florida Derby, likely to attract those who run well. Stepping up…
Santa Anita: The $150,000 Robert Lewis at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) by Brian Nadeau A short field kicks off the path to the Santa Anita Derby and it’s favored #5 MUCHO GUSTO (8-5) who looks tough to beat for Baffert off a clear second to stablemate Improbable in the GI Los…
Gulfstream Park: The $350,000 GII Holy Bull at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) by Brian Nadeau #1 Garter and Tie (12-1): Working-class Florida-bred has used his stretch run to pick up some good checks in his career and will get a positive race flow today, too, as he hopes to build off…
Brooklyn Backstretch 