Dac tries to beat odds again in Prairie Bayou Stakes

It might be said that it would be gravy if Dac can win the Prairie Bayou Stakes for a second straight year Saturday night at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky. Truth is, it’s been that way ever since Dac, 5, made his first career start in March 2015.

“The owners paid $1 for him as a 2-year-old,” said trainer Scott Brumley, referring to Jose and Amanda Sarinana. “He had issues as a baby, and nobody thought he’d make the races. It took us almost two years to do it, but he came around and kept getting better and better.”

Dac, with Rodney Prescott to ride, has been assigned post 1 in an oversubscribed field of 3-year-olds and up in the $50,000 Prairie Bayou, a 1 1/16-mile Polytrack race. He figures as one of the favorites in a very well-matched lineup that includes three horses trained by Mike Maker (Chief Kitten, Enterprising, and Cerro), two by Wesley Ward (Luck of the Kitten and Wayward Kitten), and two by Garry Simms (Big Squeeze and Croninthebarbarian).

Dac won the 2015 Prairie Bayou at 13-1 and has had a decent year in the interim. He most recently finished a respectable fifth in the Grade 3 River City on the Churchill Downs turf, earning a 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He’s been bumping heads with the big boys,” said Brumley, 60.

This is the 22nd running of the Prairie Bayou, which is named for the gelding who won the Jim Beam Stakes at Turfway in 1993 before finishing second in the Kentucky Derby, winning the Preakness, then suffering a fatal breakdown in the Belmont Stakes. It goes as the sixth of nine races on a card that starts under the lights at 6:15 p.m. Eastern. Post time for the feature is 8:40.

KEY CONTENDERS

Dac, by Distorted Humor

Last 3 Beyers: 96-79-92

◗ Brumley said he is looking forward to a return to Polytrack for a gelding whose career mark over synthetics is 2 for 3.

Luck of the Kitten, by Kitten’s Joy

Last 3 Beyers: 89-85-78

◗ This 4-year-old Ken and Sarah Ramsey homebred is winless in six starts since finishing second in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf but surely has the ability to win at this level.

Wayward Kitten, by Kitten’s Joy

Last 3 Beyers: 88-87-76

◗ Another 4-year-old Ramsey homebred whose past performances are dotted with layoff lines, he’ll make his synthetics debut after racing almost exclusively on grass.

Enterprising, by Elusive Quality

Last 3 Beyers: 89-86-89

◗ Perhaps the best of the Maker trio, he’s the leading earner in the field with nearly $500,000, the vast majority coming from his 22 starts on grass.