Kentucky Derby prep-race schedule
DiscreetCat
Moderator
from ESPN:
The Horse of the Year debate will rage on without me since I have neither a vote nor anything productive to add to the fight. For me, the annual end of the Breeders' Cup season marks the beginning of the Triple Crown pursuit. Call it forward-thinking or sporting optimism, but I prefer to focus on what's ahead far more than what's behind us.
The 2010 Triple Crown trail features several major changes, one of which came in an under-the-radar announcement this week: the Florida Derby has been moved back one week to March 20, now six weeks out from the first Saturday in May. After a stellar run as a five-week placeholder in the past four years with Derby champs Barbaro and Big Brown, why the change? It's all because Fair Grounds opted to move its traditional early March Louisiana Derby to the five-week slot on March 27.
Other notable changes this season include the transition from the natural dirt at Nad al Sheba to the Tapeta all-weather surface at the all-new Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. If Sheikh Mohammad is to realize his Derby dreams this year, his horses will be prepping on the all-weather in a series of races culminating with the March 27 United Arab Emirates Derby on the Dubai World Cup undercard.
As you can see, that March 27 timeslot was looking awfully jammed with the World Cup, Louisiana Derby and Florida Derby in potential conflict. Gulfstream zigged as the others zagged, and took a major risk moving the Florida Derby closer to no-man's land than Kentucky Derby Day, and we'll have to see if that pays off in a handle increase. It certainly does not appear to be a friendly maneuver to those horses with Triple Crown aspirations, given the six-week crater between potential starts.
Given last year's Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird prepared at Sunland Park in New Mexico, the door literally has been booted wide open when it comes to where we should be looking for the next history-making horse. Here's a thumbnail look at the 2010 Triple Crown trail, counted down from the number of weeks out from the first Saturday in May.
17 weeks, Jan. 2
Tropical Park Derby, Calder
The Skinny: This turf test launched Barbaro, and given the homogenous nature of synthetic, turf and dirt racing in this current era, surface changes are now part of the regular regimen.
16 weeks, Jan. 9
Spectacular Bid, Gulfstream
The Skinny: The kick-off for Gulfstream's path to the Florida Derby, but modern trainers rarely dash in a seasonal comeback anymore, leaving this race to the future sprinters.
15 weeks, Jan. 16-18
San Rafael, Santa Anita; Smarty Jones, Oaklawn
The Skinny: These two races are great seasonal launching pads, flat-mile races around two turns that kick-start deep 3-year-old series in California and Arkansas.
14 weeks, Jan. 23
Lecomte, Fair Grounds; Holy Bull, Gulfstream
The Skinny: The paths to the Louisiana Derby and Florida Derby get serious on this Saturday with a pair of two-turn routes.
13 weeks, Jan. 30
none
The Skinny: A good weekend to enjoy the Sunshine Millions or the Santa Monica for filly/mare sprinters, the year's first Grade 1 event.
12 weeks, Feb. 6
Bob Lewis Memorial, Santa Anita
The Skinny: Major Santa Anita Derby hopefuls begin to emerge as the Lewis extends to 1-1/16 miles.
11 weeks, Feb. 13-15
Sam F. Davis, Tampa Bay Downs; Southwest, Oaklawn; San Vicente, Santa Anita
The Skinny: East-Midwest-West triumvirate offers a mixed bag sprinting and routing on dirt and Pro Ride, capped by President's Day holiday action.
10 weeks, Feb. 18-20
UAE 2000 Guineas, Meydan; Fountain of Youth, Gulfstream; Risen Star, Fair Grounds
The Skinny: Leading contenders for the UAE, Florida and Louisiana derbies take shape. The Fountain of Youth stretches back out around two turns at 1-1/8 miles this year after a one-year run as a one-turn mile.
9 weeks, Feb. 27
Mountain Valley, Oaklawn; Borderland Derby, Sunland
The Skinny: Both listed stakes figure to have a fringe impact on the trail in stature, but Afleet Alex and Mine That Bird have tested both in recent seasons.
8 weeks, Mar. 4-6
Al Bastakiya, Meydan; Gotham, Aqueduct
The Skinny: Tune-ups for the UAE Derby and Wood Memorial top what appears to be a light weekend.
7 weeks, Mar. 13
Rebel, Oaklawn; Tampa Bay Derby, Tampa Bay Downs, San Felipe, Santa Anita
The Skinny: A heavyweight weekend of graded stakes from coast-to-coast, this one has a feeling of bigness on the calendar. The Rebel and Tampa Bay Derby are two of the fastest-rising preps on the scene, and the San Felipe nearly always defines the Santa Anita Derby picture.
6 weeks, Mar. 20
Florida Derby, Gulfstream
The Skinny: Flying solo in a great attention spot, the Florida Derby will have to prove it can lure superstar horses six weeks out from Derby Day.
5 weeks, Mar. 27-28
Louisiana Derby, Fair Grounds; United Arab Emirates Derby, Meydan; Sunland Derby, Sunland Park
The Skinny: The Louisiana Derby has struggled to produce any Triple Crown players of significance since 2003, so its calendar swap figures to be a boon to the race's quality. The UAE Derby and Sunland Derby define aristocracy and blue collar, and we all know how the Derby Gods seem to shine on those everyday types.
4 weeks, Apr. 3
Wood Memorial, Aqueduct; Santa Anita Derby, Santa Anita; Illinois Derby, Hawthorne
The Skinny: Things get very serious now as the Derby is less than a month away and a pair of dirt preps grace New York and Chicago, while last year's Kentucky Derby runner-up Pioneerof The Nile showed that it's folly to toss a Santa Anita Derby player just because of the Pro-Ride.
3 weeks, Apr. 10
Blue Grass, Keeneland; Arkansas Derby, Oaklawn
The Skinny: Even with all the changes in race horse management and track surfaces, the Blue Grass on Polytrack and the Arkansas Derby on dirt remain benchmarks on the trail. The Arkansas Derby figures to be a Grade 1 this year if the North American Graded Stakes Committee doesn't fall asleep at its evaluation meetings. Simply put no other Triple Crown trail race has even come in sniffing distance of the production of a race that has included horses like Summer Bird, Curlin, Afleet Alex, Smarty Jones and more.
2 weeks, Apr. 17
Lexington, Keeneland
The Skinny: Rest assured a Derby player or two will announce his candidacy in this 1-1/16 miles race that invites late bloomers to the party based on its achievable distance and mid-April date on the calendar.
1 week, Apr. 24
Derby Trial, Churchill
The Skinny: Few answer for last call these days, so the Derby Trial more often has Preakness possibilities than a seven-day turnaround at Churchill Downs.
The Horse of the Year debate will rage on without me since I have neither a vote nor anything productive to add to the fight. For me, the annual end of the Breeders' Cup season marks the beginning of the Triple Crown pursuit. Call it forward-thinking or sporting optimism, but I prefer to focus on what's ahead far more than what's behind us.
The 2010 Triple Crown trail features several major changes, one of which came in an under-the-radar announcement this week: the Florida Derby has been moved back one week to March 20, now six weeks out from the first Saturday in May. After a stellar run as a five-week placeholder in the past four years with Derby champs Barbaro and Big Brown, why the change? It's all because Fair Grounds opted to move its traditional early March Louisiana Derby to the five-week slot on March 27.
Other notable changes this season include the transition from the natural dirt at Nad al Sheba to the Tapeta all-weather surface at the all-new Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. If Sheikh Mohammad is to realize his Derby dreams this year, his horses will be prepping on the all-weather in a series of races culminating with the March 27 United Arab Emirates Derby on the Dubai World Cup undercard.
As you can see, that March 27 timeslot was looking awfully jammed with the World Cup, Louisiana Derby and Florida Derby in potential conflict. Gulfstream zigged as the others zagged, and took a major risk moving the Florida Derby closer to no-man's land than Kentucky Derby Day, and we'll have to see if that pays off in a handle increase. It certainly does not appear to be a friendly maneuver to those horses with Triple Crown aspirations, given the six-week crater between potential starts.
Given last year's Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird prepared at Sunland Park in New Mexico, the door literally has been booted wide open when it comes to where we should be looking for the next history-making horse. Here's a thumbnail look at the 2010 Triple Crown trail, counted down from the number of weeks out from the first Saturday in May.
17 weeks, Jan. 2
Tropical Park Derby, Calder
The Skinny: This turf test launched Barbaro, and given the homogenous nature of synthetic, turf and dirt racing in this current era, surface changes are now part of the regular regimen.
16 weeks, Jan. 9
Spectacular Bid, Gulfstream
The Skinny: The kick-off for Gulfstream's path to the Florida Derby, but modern trainers rarely dash in a seasonal comeback anymore, leaving this race to the future sprinters.
15 weeks, Jan. 16-18
San Rafael, Santa Anita; Smarty Jones, Oaklawn
The Skinny: These two races are great seasonal launching pads, flat-mile races around two turns that kick-start deep 3-year-old series in California and Arkansas.
14 weeks, Jan. 23
Lecomte, Fair Grounds; Holy Bull, Gulfstream
The Skinny: The paths to the Louisiana Derby and Florida Derby get serious on this Saturday with a pair of two-turn routes.
13 weeks, Jan. 30
none
The Skinny: A good weekend to enjoy the Sunshine Millions or the Santa Monica for filly/mare sprinters, the year's first Grade 1 event.
12 weeks, Feb. 6
Bob Lewis Memorial, Santa Anita
The Skinny: Major Santa Anita Derby hopefuls begin to emerge as the Lewis extends to 1-1/16 miles.
11 weeks, Feb. 13-15
Sam F. Davis, Tampa Bay Downs; Southwest, Oaklawn; San Vicente, Santa Anita
The Skinny: East-Midwest-West triumvirate offers a mixed bag sprinting and routing on dirt and Pro Ride, capped by President's Day holiday action.
10 weeks, Feb. 18-20
UAE 2000 Guineas, Meydan; Fountain of Youth, Gulfstream; Risen Star, Fair Grounds
The Skinny: Leading contenders for the UAE, Florida and Louisiana derbies take shape. The Fountain of Youth stretches back out around two turns at 1-1/8 miles this year after a one-year run as a one-turn mile.
9 weeks, Feb. 27
Mountain Valley, Oaklawn; Borderland Derby, Sunland
The Skinny: Both listed stakes figure to have a fringe impact on the trail in stature, but Afleet Alex and Mine That Bird have tested both in recent seasons.
8 weeks, Mar. 4-6
Al Bastakiya, Meydan; Gotham, Aqueduct
The Skinny: Tune-ups for the UAE Derby and Wood Memorial top what appears to be a light weekend.
7 weeks, Mar. 13
Rebel, Oaklawn; Tampa Bay Derby, Tampa Bay Downs, San Felipe, Santa Anita
The Skinny: A heavyweight weekend of graded stakes from coast-to-coast, this one has a feeling of bigness on the calendar. The Rebel and Tampa Bay Derby are two of the fastest-rising preps on the scene, and the San Felipe nearly always defines the Santa Anita Derby picture.
6 weeks, Mar. 20
Florida Derby, Gulfstream
The Skinny: Flying solo in a great attention spot, the Florida Derby will have to prove it can lure superstar horses six weeks out from Derby Day.
5 weeks, Mar. 27-28
Louisiana Derby, Fair Grounds; United Arab Emirates Derby, Meydan; Sunland Derby, Sunland Park
The Skinny: The Louisiana Derby has struggled to produce any Triple Crown players of significance since 2003, so its calendar swap figures to be a boon to the race's quality. The UAE Derby and Sunland Derby define aristocracy and blue collar, and we all know how the Derby Gods seem to shine on those everyday types.
4 weeks, Apr. 3
Wood Memorial, Aqueduct; Santa Anita Derby, Santa Anita; Illinois Derby, Hawthorne
The Skinny: Things get very serious now as the Derby is less than a month away and a pair of dirt preps grace New York and Chicago, while last year's Kentucky Derby runner-up Pioneerof The Nile showed that it's folly to toss a Santa Anita Derby player just because of the Pro-Ride.
3 weeks, Apr. 10
Blue Grass, Keeneland; Arkansas Derby, Oaklawn
The Skinny: Even with all the changes in race horse management and track surfaces, the Blue Grass on Polytrack and the Arkansas Derby on dirt remain benchmarks on the trail. The Arkansas Derby figures to be a Grade 1 this year if the North American Graded Stakes Committee doesn't fall asleep at its evaluation meetings. Simply put no other Triple Crown trail race has even come in sniffing distance of the production of a race that has included horses like Summer Bird, Curlin, Afleet Alex, Smarty Jones and more.
2 weeks, Apr. 17
Lexington, Keeneland
The Skinny: Rest assured a Derby player or two will announce his candidacy in this 1-1/16 miles race that invites late bloomers to the party based on its achievable distance and mid-April date on the calendar.
1 week, Apr. 24
Derby Trial, Churchill
The Skinny: Few answer for last call these days, so the Derby Trial more often has Preakness possibilities than a seven-day turnaround at Churchill Downs.