Fair Grounds: Risen Star attracts 16 horses; Vicar's in Trouble outside

Kentucky Derby Fever long has infected horsepeople with talented 3-year-olds, and now the malady has mutated, spinning off a similar affliction: Kentucky Derby Qualifying Points Fever.

A massive total of 16 horses passed the entry box Monday for Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes, which awards Derby qualifying points to its first four finishers on a 50-20-10-5 basis. The main body of the field is 14-strong, with two longshots – the race’s lowest earners – on the also-eligible list.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

The crush of entrants did no favors for the Risen Star’s potential favorite, Vicar’s in Trouble, who easily won the Lecomte Stakes in his most recent start to run his career record to 2 for 2, but landed post 14 for the Risen Star. With a moderately short run to the first turn in the 1 1/16-mile race, one would assume the horse stuck in post 14 would be at a disadvantage, but assume is as far as one can go: The last 10 Fair Grounds race meets haven’t included a single 14-horse field. Only two such races have gone with 13 starters during the last 10 meetings, and only 15 with as many as 12 starters.

Ive Struck a Nerve, a mega-longshot, won the 2013 Risen Star, and perhaps owing to his unlikely success, this year’s field is longer on hope than actual accomplishment. Only three horses – Vicar’s in Trouble, Bond Holder, and Rise Up, have won graded stakes races. Seven entrants are mere maiden winners, and Vigorish still is a maiden.

Besides Vicar’s in Trouble, who will have leading rider Rosie Napravnik in the irons, the other likely favorites include: Intense Holiday, (post 9, Mike Smith), third last out in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes and a close fourth last fall in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes; Bond Holder (post 5, Mario Gutierrez), who ships from California and won the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes last fall at Santa Anita; and Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes winner Rise Up (post 2, Gerard Melancon).

The rest of the field, from inside out is Albano, Flat Gone, Gold Hawk, Interchange, Hoppertunity, Son of a Preacher, Quick Indian, Xtra Luck, and Commanding Curve.

The Risen Star, one of five stakes Saturday, goes as race 11 on a 12-race program. First post is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Central, with the Risen Star set for 5:25. The long-range forecast calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms Saturday.

Rachel Alexandra gets seven

Ria Antonia, placed first through the disqualification of She’s a Tiger in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, heads a field of seven entered in the Grade 3, $200,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes.

Ria Antonia, who will be ridden for the first time by Joe Talamo, drew post 6 for the first start of her 3-year-old campaign. The filly’s connections had contemplated a start in the Risen Star before deciding on the Rachel Alexandra.

Ria Antonia’s primary foes are Got Lucky (post 5, Mike Smith), in from Florida for trainer Todd Pletcher, and Streaming (post 2, Martin Garcia) who ships from California for trainer Bob Baffert. Got Lucky finished a close second in the Grade 2 Demoiselle last fall. Streaming won the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet Stakes but finished second as the even-money favorite in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes on Feb. 1 at Santa Anita. Hill ‘n’ Dale Stable is an owner of both Streaming and Got Lucky, but they race as separate wagering interests.

Late last week, trainer Larry Jones said he thought he had two horses for the Rachel Alexandra, but Divine Beauty was taken out of consideration Friday, while an unspecified minor issue was detected in Cassatt over the weekend, and neither one was entered in the Rachel Alexandra.

Nine apiece in two stakes

Nine older horses, headed by Prayer for Relief and Fordubai, were entered in the Grade 3 Mineshaft Handicap, a dirt-route race. Nine also were entered in the Grade 3 Fair Grounds Handicap, which is carded for turf, but two of those horses, Ground Transport and Mister Marti Gras, probably would only run if the race were moved to dirt, and both are cross-entered in the Mineshaft. Daddy Nose Best, winner of two turf stakes at the Fair Grounds meet, is the starting highweight entered in the Fair Grounds Handicap.