Collected among dozen for Sunland Park Festival of Racing Stakes

Kentucky Derby-winning trainers Bob Baffert, Doug O’Neill, and Todd Pletcher will be frequent rivals on next Sunday’s richest day of racing at Sunland Park in New Mexico. The three conditioners have horses in both the $415,000 Sunland Park Festival of Racing Stakes and the $200,000 Plum Pretty.

The stakes are for 3-year-olds and replace the canceled Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Park Derby and the $200,000 Sunland Park Oaks. Sunland revised its stakes schedule after losing a month of racing due to an outbreak of equine herpesvirus. The track had been under a quarantine that was lifted Wednesday. The Festival Stakes and Plum Pretty will not offer points toward either the Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Oaks.

But the races will offer some 3-year-olds of interest, nonetheless. Baffert has entered Grade 3 winner Collected in the 12-horse Festival Stakes and has given the mount to Martin Garcia. Pletcher will counter with Gettysburg, coming off a fifth-place finish to Destin in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis and to be ridden by Javier Castellano. O’Neill sends in Found Money, fourth last out to Collected in the Sham. He has given the mount to Mario Gutierrez.

Found Money will break from the rail, while Collected drew post 8 and Gettysburg, gate 12.

The Festival Stakes, to be run over 1 1/8 miles, has a scheduled post of 5:30 p.m. Mountain. It is the main event on a card of seven stakes that starts at 1:30 p.m.

The Plum Pretty drew a field of seven fillies, who will travel 1 1/16 miles. Baffert has the multiple stakes-placed Family Tree, who will break from the rail under Garcia. She will be racing with blinkers off. Pletcher will put blinkers on Thrilled, the runner-up in the Grade 2 Demoiselle last out at Aqueduct. She will break from post 2 under Castellano. O’Neill sends out Where’s the D, who will be ridden by Gutierrez.