Unbeaten on turf last year, Deterministic will get back to business with high expectations in the Fort Marcy on Saturday at Aqueduct. The 5-year-old will tackle the Grade 3 stakes without a prep, but trainer Miguel Clement is confident in his preparation. “He’s doing great,” Clement said. “I’m very bullish. It’s just time to bring him back.” Last year, Deterministic made his final start for the late Christophe Clement in the Fort Marcy, winning by 4 1/2 lengths. It was a breakout effort for the budding star, and in his next two starts for Miguel Clement at Saratoga, the horse won the Grade 1 Manhattan and Grade 1 Fourstardave in even sharper fashion. The eight-month break is daunting, and unlike last year, Deterministic will enter the Fort Marcy without a prep, as Clement scratched him from the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland last month. But based on his most recent form, it will be hard to deny him favoritism in the 1 1/8-mile turf race. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. “He was ready to run at Keeneland, but, unfortunately, we didn’t run that day,” Clement said. “Nevertheless, he’s been sitting on go. I’m happy to get his season kicked off the right way in the Fort Marcy.” In the main field of five, Clement also entered Ridari, a 4-year-old colt making his North American debut off a seven-month layoff. At Longchamp last October, the French-bred won his second stakes in the Group 2 Qatar Prix Daniel Wildenstein for trainer Mikel Delzangles. His move to the United States was arranged by trainer Nicolas Clement, Miguel’s uncle, who acquired the colt through a private sale. “He’s got a nice little turn of foot,” Clement said. “Fun acquisition from France by my uncle. This is very much not the end goal. We anticipate he will improve from this race.” Trainer Chad Brown entered the only turf runner without stakes experience in the field, though the 4-year-old colt Uncatalyzed has shown a great deal in three sporadic appearances. A second-out maiden winner in May 2025, he returned from a nearly 11-month break in March and won a first-level allowance by 2 3/4 lengths at Tampa Bay Downs. “He’s a horse I always had high hopes for,” Brown said. “His career has been stalled a bit with some physical issues that were minor but untimely. The horse seems to be very sound and moving forward now, and he’s always acted like a graded-stakes-level horse.” Montador and Battle of Normandy both ran this winter and are coming out of graded stakes to complete the main field. Yo Daddy, Dr. Kraft, and Mr. Papagiorgio have all been entered for main track only. Elusive Quality Trainer Horacio De Paz said he isn’t sure what to expect from Twenty Six Black off a seven-month layoff, but he believes he has done enough to get the 6-year-old ready. Back in open company, the talented New York-bred is expected to be a dangerous contender in the $150,000 Elusive Quality Stakes on Saturday. “We didn’t necessarily tighten the screws up because I plan on a good, long campaign for him throughout the summer,” De Paz said. “He may need the race, but it’s just a spot to get started.” :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2026: Top contenders, point standings, news, and more Last year, Twenty Six Black kicked off his 5-year-old campaign in the six-furlong Elusive Quality and finished fourth by a length. It proved to be a teaser, as the turf runner later improved in two explosive starts at Saratoga in August. After finishing second in the Grade 2 Troy with a 100 Beyer Speed Figure, he matched that performance to win the $135,000 Disco Partner. “I think he’s just been gradually maturing through his races and just really putting it together year after year after year,” De Paz said. “He seems to be trending the right way, especially the later part of last year.” In his last start on Oct. 25, Twenty Six Black took on statebred rivals and won the $200,000 New York Turf Sprint Championship. Waralo, the runner-up behind him that day, also will make his 2026 debut in the Elusive Quality. “He’s not real energetic in the mornings,” trainer Chris Englehart said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he needed a race, so we’ll see.” Clock Tower, a 4-year-old gelding trained by Wesley Ward, was shuffled back to last in the Grade 2 Shakertown at Keeneland last month, a foreign trip for the front-running sprinter. He rallied for sixth off a long break and earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure, but Ward said he expects even more from the 6 post at Aqueduct. “We thought the [Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint] at Churchill might be a little bit salty, so we decided to go ahead and enter here, and then we got such a great post that we’re going to go ahead and run,” Ward said. Clock Tower won the $150,000 Paradise Creek by 1 1/2 lengths at Aqueduct last year, and Ward said his familiarity with the course was a factor in his decision to take another trip from Kentucky. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.