By Jarrod Horak The Road to the Kentucky Derby rolls through Santa Anita Park with the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, a $500,000 event for three-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles on the main track. This is one of the most important West Coast prep races, and I’ve been tracking all the Derby points races closely—producing […]
Tag Archives: Final Time Ratings
By Jarrod Horak The Road to the Kentucky Derby rolls through Aqueduct with the Grade 2 Wood Memorial, a $750,000 test for three-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles on the main track. As the 12th race on the card, this is a pivotal Derby points race, and I’m looking to separate contenders from pretenders based on […]
By Jarrod Horak The Road to the Kentucky Derby rolls through South Florida with the Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. This $1 million test at 1 1/8 miles is one of the most important final preps, offering critical points toward qualifying for Churchill Downs. With a mix of proven stakes winners and improving […]
By Jarrod Horak I’m breaking down the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, a $1.5 million Kentucky Derby points race at 1 1/8 miles. This race consistently produces serious Derby contenders, and this year’s field brings a mix of proven stakes runners and lightly raced upside types. From a pace perspective, Redland Rebels figures […]
By Jarrod Horak The Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park is the next Kentucky Oaks prep race on the calendar. With a $1 million purse and 200 total Oaks qualifying points on the line, this mile-and-a-sixteenth test for three-year-old fillies drew a compact field of six headed by even money favorite Explora. I broke […]
By Jarrod Horak I’m breaking down the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park, a key Kentucky Derby prep worth 100-50-25-15-10 points to the top five finishers. This $777,000 race is contested at 1 1/8 miles over the all-weather surface, and it’s a fascinating mix of proven synthetic runners, turf shippers, and developing three-year-olds […]
By Jarrod Horak This is one of the more intriguing Kentucky Oaks prep races on the calendar, and the 2026 Bourbonette Oaks at Turfway Park shapes up as a wide-open betting race. With a $300,000 purse, Oaks points on the line, and a full field of developing three-year-old fillies, this mile-and-a-sixteenth test on the synthetic […]
By Jarrod Horak The Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks is one of the most important final stepping-stone races on the road to the Kentucky Oaks. Run at 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds Race Course on Louisiana Derby Day, the race brings together a competitive group of three-year-old fillies chasing valuable Kentucky Oaks qualifying points. […]
By Jarrod Horak The Road to the Kentucky Oaks continues on Sunday at Santa Anita Park with the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes. This $100,000 event for three-year-old fillies covers one mile and one-sixteenth on the main track and serves as an important Kentucky Oaks qualifying race. For this race, I’m using data from the […]
The Road to the Kentucky Derby runs straight through New York this Saturday as the Gotham Stakes Aqueduct picks take center stage at Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park. With Derby qualifying points on the line and a competitive undercard featuring the Busher Stakes and Stymie Stakes, this is one of the most important winter […]