LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Grade 3, $400,000 Lexington Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland is the final race awarding points toward the Kentucky Derby. However, the race is more likely to produce candidates for the Preakness Stakes. With the cutoff to make the Derby field currently hovering around 50 points for the 17 North American points-based slots in the starting gate – the remaining positions are reserved for international qualifiers – and none of the Lexington entrants holding more than six points coming in, it is impossible for any to make it to the Derby. Nine were entered for the Lexington, but seven or fewer are expected to start. Touchy and Rolando were third and fourth, respectively, in the Lafayette Stakes on Monday. Bullard, a graded stakes-winning sprinter trying two turns for the first time, and Praetor, making his stakes debut, are expected to vie for favoritism. At one point, Bullard was considered a Derby hopeful for Michael McCarthy, who has emerged from prep season with early favorite Journalism. Bullard was entered in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes in February at Oaklawn Park, but he was scratched after spiking a fever. :: DRF Road to the Derby Package Available Now! Save 37% on key handicapping essentials through Kentucky Derby Day. “He got sick on us this winter, but he’s gotten back on track since then,” McCarthy said of the colt, who has breezed four times since mid-March. “We’ll have to see what’s in the cards after Saturday’s race. If he runs well, it could set him up for a race like the Preakness.” Bullard, a $675,000 yearling by young phenom Gun Runner, won his first two starts, including the Grade 3 Bob Hope at seven furlongs in November, besting Madaket Road. In his most recent outing on Jan. 5, he was third in the Grade 2, seven-furlong San Vicente behind then-unbeaten Barnes. Bullard has been a late-running sprinter, and it remains to be seen how his style will work in a two-turn race, with perhaps less tempo early. In contrast, Praetor, a $725,000 yearling by leading sire Into Mischief, has preferred to be more forwardly placed. After finishing third with a troubled trip in his debut, Praetor earned a flashy 90 Beyer Speed Figure winning a mile maiden race at Aqueduct last September. There, he defeated Sovereignty, who has emerged as a Kentucky Derby contender. Praetor then won a one-mile allowance in March at Gulfstream Park, drawing clear by 7 1/2 lengths. Off that effort, his connections resisted the temptation to move him into a major Derby prep. Trainer Chad Brown, who has twice won the Preakness Stakes with horses who did not run in the Derby, recently said he wanted to develop Praetor with more seasoning. Hypnus, who has made all three of his starts around two turns, was well-regarded off his debut win on a sloppy, sealed track at Fair Grounds. However, he proceeded to finish seventh in both the Rebel and the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby. Trainer Kenny McPeek, who also has Native Runner in this field, adds blinkers to see if Hypnus can be in touch earlier. The colt comes in off a bullet work in company with Native Runner last weekend at Churchill Downs on a muddy track. He would relish a wet strip Saturday. There is scattered precipitation in the forecast Thursday and Friday, but the Keeneland crew should have the track fast for Saturday, given the turnaround from sloppy to fast within a 24-hour period earlier this week following much heavier rainfall. Native Runner has won his last two starts, but those victories have come in restricted company. Gosger is coming off a maiden win at Gulfstream in which he improved going from six furlongs to a mile. Bracket Buster and Hard as Life, both maiden special weight winners returning from layoffs, complete the expected field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.