Kentucky Derby 2019 Prep Race Recap: Vekoma best in Blue Grass Stakes

​Vekoma punched his ticket for Kentucky Derby 2019 with a strong prominent throughout victory over Win Win Win in the Blue Grass Stakes (G2) at Keeneland on April 6. 

Check out Today's Racing Digest for handicapping products, analysis, and more! Vekoma capture above courtesy of Today's Racing Digest.


Kentucky Derby 2019 Points Race Recaps  


Blue Grass Stakes (G2) Recap (4-6-19) - Winner: Vekoma ($4.80)


Vekoma did not disappoint as the favorite in his final Kentucky Derby 2019 prep race. He chased the pace from 2nd, took the lead, and rode the speed bias to an easy 3-1/2 length victory. He was good as a juvenile and has improved this year. He will have to improve again to compete for a top prize on the first Saturday in May. Win Win Win rallied to grab the place in the final strides and has also secured his spot in the Derby. This was a solid effort considering the way the main track played on Saturday. Signalman stalked the pace and just missed the place. He finished in the top three in four of his five points races and is currently #18 on the Derby points list. Somelikeithotbrown battled on the pace and weakened late to finish 4th. He is currently #21 on the points list (30 points) and is on the outside looking in. Chess Chief, So Alive, Sir Winston, Admire, Moonster, Lucky Lee, Market King, Aquadini, Dream Maker, and Parsimony completed the order of finish.


​Article and Video by Jarrod Horak


You can read all of my Derby blogs on my Kentucky Derby 2019 page, and my annual Triple Crown full card analysis from Churchill Downs, Pimlico Race Course, and Belmont Park will be available on my Runaway Horse Sales page later this spring.    

Kentucky Derby 2019 Prep Race Recap: Roadster wins SA Derby

A Kentucky Derby 2019 contender trained by Bob Baffert won the Santa Anita Derby on April 6, but not the one you might think. Two-year-old champion Game Winner was nailed in late stretch by his lightly raced stablemate Roadster, and both have secured enough points to run in the Derby.

 


Check out Today's Racing Digest for handicapping products, analysis, and more! Roadster capture above courtesy of Today's Racing Digest.


Santa Anita Derby Top to Bottom Rundown:


1st - Roadster - Was patiently handled by a confident Mike Smith. He was content to sit in 5th place, about five lengths or so behind the top four after six panels. He started making serious inroads while racing outside in the stretch, and got past Game Winner in deep stretch to score by a 1/2 length. This was exactly what you want to see heading into the Derby. He finished up like he wants more ground than a mile and an eighth. The highly regarded colt should only get better as the year progresses. 


2nd - Game Winner - Won all four of his starts last year and has been a bit unlucky in both of his 2019 outings. He missed by a nose in the Rebel Stakes (G2) last month, and he returned in three weeks and was second best again. He stalked wide from the outside post and should have gotten plenty out of both Derby preps this year. 


3rd - Instagrand - He had a flashy juvenile campaign and came back with an okay 3rd in the Gotham Stakes (G3) in New York last month. This was his first two turn test and he set the pace and ended up a clear 3rd. He does not have enough points to run in the Kentucky Derby and that is probably a good thing. His future is probably in shorter events. 


4th - Nolo Contesto - Roadster defeated him in an optional claiming route at Santa Anita last month, and he could not hang with that rival today either. He chased Instagrand and made a run for the lead in the lane but weakened in the final furlong. He has some talent but is a cut or two below the best. 


5th- Synthesis - Chased the pace and steadily retreated as a 66-1 outsider. 


6th- More Ice - Trailed throughout as the longest shot in the field. 


Article by Jarrod Horak


​You can read all of my Derby blogs on my Kentucky Derby 2019 page, and my annual Triple Crown full card analysis from Churchill Downs, Pimlico Race Course, and Belmont Park will be available on my Runaway Horse Sales page later this spring.  

Kentucky Derby 2019 Prep Race Recap: Tacitus over Tax in Wood Memorial

Aqueduct Race Course
4/6/2019
Race Round-Up: (R10) Gr. II Wood Memorial Stakes (3yr M, 1-1/8th Mile Dirt, $750,000)
Track Condition: Fast
Final Time: 1:51.23

Tacitus proved his worth on Saturday when he overcame a troubled beginning and eventually got up to win by a length and a quarter over Tax.  He now has two Gr. II wins under his belt and put himself atop the Kentucky Derby 2019 leader board with 150 points.  Traveling fourth down the backstretch, the son of Tapit went through fractions of 23.62, 46.91, 1:11.46, 1:37.81 before crossing the wire at 1:51.23.  I have to say, this was an incredible run given the circumstances going into the first turn and the way he overcame adversity must sit well with bettors going into the Derby.  Unless something crazy happens in the next two weeks I would imagine he’ll be a top three betting choice come May 4th.

Check out Today's Racing Digest for handicapping products, analysis, and more! Tacitus capture above courtesy of Today's Racing Digest.

The top four runners in here were Tacitus, Tax, Haikal, and Math Wizard.  Tax solidified his Derby ticket by earning 40 tokens for his second-place finish and now sits in 12th with 52 points.  Haikal came into this race with 50 points so he was most likely going to the Derby anyway, but he bumped up his total to 70 after his third-place effort.  Math Wizard ran well for fourth, however he will not have enough to qualify for the Derby.


Let’s look at the race round up for Saturday’s Gr. II Wood Memorial Stakes:


#1 – Tacitus:  Started well under Jose Ortiz but soon came under trouble due to Joevia coming across the field from post 11.  Tax was a little bit ahead of Tacitus at this point who moved slightly outside Joevia going into the first turn.  Due to this Ortiz had to pull up on the reins which caused his mount to drift outside which made Overdeliver drift further outside.  Going into the backstretch Tacitus was moved down towards the rail and ran in fourth for much of the race before making a four-wide move into the stretch.  He quickly had his sights set on Tax and soon headed the second-place finisher before powering away to win by a length and a quarter.


#2 – Tax: Had a great start from post one and was quickly joined by Joevia. Tax made a slight move outside of Joevia which caused further trouble to a few of the horses behind him.  He settled in third down the backstretch before making the first jump on Not That Brady down the lane.  He quickly took over the lead but had Tacitus right to his outside.  He had a valiant effort but was no match for the winner and eventually finished second by a little more than a length.


#3 – Haikal: Was slow out of the gate like he usually is and settle between horses going into the first turn.  He ended up in eighth down the backstretch and eventually had to make a move between the two Pletcher horses going into the final turn.  Haikal skimmed the rail and kept fighting on to get up for third by a half length over Math Wizard.


#4 – Math Wizard: Ran evenly with Outshine to his outside out of the break.  The jockey had to pull back on the reins slightly as Not That Brady pushed towards the front, but it was nothing too serious.  He ended up in tenth on the backstretch where he got the jump on Haikal by splitting the two Pletcher horses.  Entering the final turn, he was in fifth down by the rail and it looked like he would hold on for a third, but he was done running midway down the stretch.


#5 – Not That Brady: Broke well and was just able to avoid the traffic going into the first turn and ended up in third moving into the backstretch.  He soon joined Joevia to his outside where the duo raced head to head leading up to the final turn.  Joevia began to retreat at this point and Not That Brady went into the stretch with a slight lead over Tax.  This lead did not last long, and the son of Big Brown faded to fifth losing by about five lengths.


#6 – Final Jeopardy: Had a clean break under Manny Franco and was quickly shuffled to fifth in between Tacitus and Overdeliever before the first turn.  Down the backstretch he took up running in ninth before getting passed by Grumps Little Tots.  He made up some ground entering the final turn and just got up for sixth over Joevia down the lane.  Not a bad finish considering the circumstances going into the first turn.


#7 – Joevia (Disqualified and placed 11th): Took off from post 11 and made a strong move towards the rail going into the first turn.  Due to this, Tacticus, Final Jeopardy, and Overdeliver were all negatively affected.  Joevia was in first moving into the backstretch but was soon joined by Not That Brady where the two battled it out until Joevia began to retreat before the final turn.  He was passed by Final Jeopardy down the lane to finish seventh but was eventually disqualified and placed last.  

#8 – Hoffa’s Union: Did not break well but was able to avoid the trouble going into the first turn and sat about seventh in the early stages.  Hoffa’s Union moved into fifth during the backstretch and really had no excuse from there.  Entering the stretch, you can see the horse was done running so I feel it was too much too soon for this guy.


#9 – Grumps Little Tots: Began slowest of the group and was last going into the first turn.  He soon passed Final Jeopardy but did little after that.  Down the lane he was a little green and Lezcano pulled back on the reins signally he was finished at that point.


#10 – Outshine: Had an even beginning next to Math Wizard but Velazquez tried to push on towards the front runners entering the first turn.  He was already wide at that point due to Overdeliver getting pushed further outside and ended up floating about seven-wide around the first turn.  He was essentially done by this point but given the circumstances you could probably draw a line through this effort.


#11 – Overdeliver: Probably took the worst of the whole debacle going into the first turn and ended up going five to six around the first turn.  He tried his best down the backstretch but ended up retreating before the final turn.  You can probably draw a line through this effort as he arguably took the worst from the congestion going into the first turn.


​About Josh:


Originally from Upstate New York,  Josh (also referred to as Dr. Atlas in racing circles) has been a long time follower and supporter of the "Sport of Kings".


Mr. Chicorelli worked for Horse Racing Nation and DerbyWars from 2011-2013 and has been a local at the Saratoga  Race Course for over a decade. In his spare time, Josh writes handicapping articles and has worked part-time for the NYRA Bets Squad over the past two years.  


​​Josh received his BS in New Media Marketing from RIT in 2011 and recently completed his Masters in Business Administration from RPI (May 2018).

Kentucky Derby 2019 Points Race Video for Saturday (4-6-19)

Check out my top win selections for the Blue Grass, SA Derby, and Wood Memorial in my Today's Racing Digest video below!

 

Kentucky Derby 2019 Video Series Featuring Hoffa's Union

My Kentucky Derby 2019 under the radar video series continues with the Wood Memorial (G2). In this video, I take a look at Hoffa's Union. 

Check out Today's Racing Digest for handicapping products, analysis, and more! Hoffa's Union capture above courtesy of Today's Racing Digest.

Article and Video by Jarrod Horak

You can read all of my Derby blogs on my Kentucky Derby 2019 page, and my annual Triple Crown full card analysis from Churchill Downs, Pimlico Race Course, and Belmont Park will be available on my Runaway Horse Sales page later this spring.  

Kentucky Derby 2019 Video Series Featuring Dream Maker & Somelikeithotbrown

My Kentucky Derby 2019 under the radar video series continues with the Blue Grass Stakes (G2). In this video, I take a look at Dream Maker and Somelikeithotbrown.  

Dream Maker picture courtesy of Josh Chicorelli

Article and Video by Jarrod Horak

You can read all of my Derby blogs on my Kentucky Derby 2019 page, and my annual Triple Crown full card analysis from Churchill Downs, Pimlico Race Course, and Belmont Park will be available on my Runaway Horse Sales page later this spring.   

Kentucky Derby 2019 Video Series: Santa Anita Derby Entrant Nolo Contesto

My Kentucky Derby 2019 under the radar video series continues with the Santa Anita Derby (G1). In this video, I take a look at Nolo Contesto. 

Check out Today's Racing Digest for handicapping products, analysis, and more! Nolo Contesto capture above courtesy of Today's Racing Digest.

Article and Video by Jarrod Horak

You can read all of my Derby blogs on my Kentucky Derby 2019 page, and my annual Triple Crown full card analysis from Churchill Downs, Pimlico Race Course, and Belmont Park will be available on my Runaway Horse Sales page later this spring.