LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Todd Pletcher was pleased with how multiple graded stakes winner Final Score was coming into his 3-year-old debut – until, perhaps, last Saturday afternoon. “I think he was doing better until he drew post 14,” Pletcher said. The draw for Final Score in the Grade 1, $1 million American Turf pushes the door open even more in a full and competitive lineup of 3-year-olds. Final Score is one of three graded winners in the field, along with Remember Mamba and Stark Contrast. There are six other stakes winners in the lineup, including Greenwich Village. The résumés are similar, but questions about coming back off layoffs, coming back in shorter order, and general horse condition abound. Final Score’s only loss came in his debut, an off-the-turf sprint. He proceeded to rattle off three wins at the 1 1/16-mile distance of the American Turf, including the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes and Grade 2 Bourbon Stakes. Sore shins halted his season. After getting time off in Ocala, Fla., he has come along steadily in March and April, with six breezes. “He’s come back well,” Pletcher said. “It’s a bit of a layoff, so I’m hoping we have him ready enough to perform to his best. But I was a little disappointed with the wide draw.” Final Score, always a forward horse, will have to avoid being hung wide in a field with plenty of speed. Street Beast bookends the field and should be sharp from the rail, while Honey Dutch and stakes winner Thousandsticks also should be in the early mix. Street Beast, a stakes winner on turf last year and Tapeta this year, has had poor luck in his last two outings and would be a player if he returns to top form. The colt became keyed up in the gate before the John Battaglia Memorial, throwing him off his game. He set a pressured pace but then folded and was wrapped up on late. Street Beast was an improved fourth, beaten a length, in the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland but got a van ride home after incurring a superficial cut on a hind leg. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2026: Top contenders, point standings, news, and more Remember Mamba won the Transylvania, rallying to get up by a half-length over the consistent Honey Dutch, with stakes winner Vasy another neck back in third. It was the culmination of patient handling by trainer Cherie DeVaux. Remember Mamba, who appears to relish all the ground he can get, has won all three of his races – a debut in October, an allowance in January, and the Transylvania on April 3. This is not only the quickest he has ever come back, he also has dealt with a minor hoof issue. However, he has not missed any serious training. “He’s doing great,” DeVaux said. “We did have to address a little foot issue, some white line, but that’s been fine. We’ll just keep a close eye on it.” White line is a fairly common hoof ailment that involves an infection in non-sensitive layers of the foot. It is simple to treat if detected early. Of the three graded winners in this field, Stark Contrast appears to have the fewest questions and should be much better in his second start off a break, provided he can work his way to a good trip from post 4. The colt won the Grade 3 Zuma Beach Stakes last fall and then was a strong second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, beaten just three-quarters of a length after having to wait for room. He won the Eddie Logan Stakes on Jan. 8, but then was forced to miss the following month’s Pasadena Stakes with a minor foot bruise. He finished a good second in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby on Turfway Park’s Tapeta. “He’s a horse I have high regard for,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “His race in the Jeff Ruby, I thought, was very good, coming off, more or less, 10 weeks, going a mile and an eighth for the first time, first time shipping, first time synthetic, all those kind of things.” McCarthy also has entered Grade 2-placed maiden Let’s Be Frank, who was second in a March maiden special weight to an older horse who was a next-out winner. Greenwich Village won the Pasadena stretching out to a mile, and a sharp pace should help him. He has not run since that Feb. 22 outing. He was entered in the John Shear Stakes on April 5, but the race failed to draw sufficient entries and was not brought back until April 18, “too close” for Bob Baffert to use as a prep for Saturday. Black Hornet has won both his turf starts, including the Black Gold Stakes at Fair Grounds, but was eighth in the Jeff Ruby. “He’s done nothing wrong on grass,” said Brendan Walsh, who also saddles Vasy. “I think he just didn’t like the [surface] at Turfway. He just didn’t really care for it.” Grade 1-placed Blackout Time has the pedigree to handle his first try on turf, being by versatile sire Not This Time and out of a Grade 3-winning turf mare. Alpyland had a good winter in Florida, winning the Dania Beach Stakes, finishing third in the Kitten’s Joy Stakes, and winning the Columbia Stakes. Steel Imperium was second in the Rushaway Stakes at Turfway. Maiden winner Blinging It Back completes the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.