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The 100-point Kentucky Derby preps have come and gone. All that’s left on the road to the Run for the Roses is Saturday’s Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, which serves as a last resort for connections with horses on the outside looking in.
Three major Kentucky Derby preps came and went on Saturday. With those races came sweeping changes in the points standings and these rankings, and more of those are still in store with several 100-point races yet to be run.As a reminder, this list serves as a hybrid of sorts. If a horse has earned enough Derby points to make the field, he’ll be on this list. However, that doesn’t mean an exceptionally-talented 3-year-old without sufficient points will be ignored if it’s eyeing a race that could serve as a springboard to the first Saturday in May.
The final round of Kentucky Derby preps are officially in full swing. These are where we’ll learn a lot about some horses, and this past week provided plenty of education (plus a few key news items that have led to significant changes to this list).
Six racehorses, four trainers, and one jockey account for the 11 finalists that will comprise the National Museum of Racing’s 2022 Hall of Fame ballot, as chosen by the Museum’s Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. The finalists are racehorses Beholder (first year of eligibility), Blind Luck, Havre de Grace, Kona Gold, Rags to Riches, and Tepin (first year of eligibility); trainers Christophe Clement, Graham Motion, Doug O’Neill, and John Shirreffs; and jockey Corey Nakatani.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert won another Derby on Saturday when Pinehurst took the lead from the start and held off 13 rivals in the $1.5 million Saudi Derby (G3), a few races prior to the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1).