Horse Racing: Derby Preps Abound!

Saturday is the First Saturday in February. Maybe not as famous in horse racing as "The First Saturday in May" but it could tell us a little bit about who's going to be running for the Roses on May 4th.

There are three major Derby Prep races on the calendar that you might want to consider paying attention to.

Aqueduct: The Withers

Maybe the 'highest profile' of any of these races I've always held a soft spot for this Aqueduct classic. While on paper this might seem like a 3-horse race between Admire, Lucky Lee and Moretti (all making their Stakes debuts, I wouldn't over look Tax who was last seen running third in the Grade 2 Ramsen behind Maximus Mischief and Network Effect, both Derby hopefuls. The bummer here is that Le General seems likely to miss the race due to injury.

Gulfstream Park: The Holy Bull

Speaking of Maximus Mischief, he seems likely to run here against Mucho Macho Man winner Mihos, and the Todd Pletcher hopeful Federal Case.  Again, the chalk is to say that one of these horses is the sure-fire winner but also on the card is the Dale Romans trained Come On Gerry who might be a better value from a wagering perspective. Also interesting, and getting zero buzz, is Mucho Macho Man second place finisher Trophy Chaser, who needs to show some improvement from last time out but who also seems to have the pedigree to do well here. People are still waiting for him to put it all together in a big race.

Santa Anita Park: The Robert B. Lewis

The West Coast prep race provides us with a nice showdown between Jerry Hollendorfer's Gunmetal Grey, who looked spectacular in the Sham stakes, facing off against the Bob Baffert trained Mucho Gusto, who also looked good in the Los Alamitos Futurity.  Looking to spoil matters is Sueno, who finished 2nd in the Sham and Nolo Contesto, the John Sadler trained colt who struggled in his first race but put it all together in his last race to break his maiden and indicate that he's ready to move forward.

Saturday won't tell us WHO will be in the Derby obviously, the big preps are still to come, but it will provide us with some indication as to who won't be.  The current 3YO crop is starting to run out of prep races, and chances to put it all together in advance of the $3MM Kentucky Derby. Earlier a bad race could be overcome, we're getting to the point where horses that don't show something might have to start looking a different way.

I'll do a full breakdown later but, for now, I'll just say that Saturday is going to be exciting.

Good luck however you play.