Illinois Derby gets full gate of 14; Departing in 13 spot

STICKNEY, Ill. - A full field of 14 horses was entered Wednesday for Saturday's Grade 3, $750,000 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Race Course.

Departing, the 7-2 morning-line favorite, and the third-place finisher March 30 in the $1 million Louisiana Derby, drew post 13. The wide draw is far from ideal, but a long run to the first turn of the 1 1/8- mile race mitigates to some degree the negative consequences of the outside post. Brian Hernandez, Departing's regular jockey, was named to ride by trainerAl Stall.

From the rail, the field with riders includes Bells Big Bernie (Tim Thornton), Dewey Square (Corey Lanerie), Street Spice (Jeffrey Sanchez), For Greater Glory (Shaun Bridgmohan), Ground Transport (Mark Guidry), Taken By the Storm (Alan Garcia), Dakota Mac (Seth Martinez), Abraham (Javier Castellano), Show Some Magic (Miguel Mena), Fordubai (Diego Sanchez), Stormin Monarcho (Florent Geroux), Siete de Oros (Angel Arroyo), Departing , and Narvaez (Paco Lopez).

The Illinois Derby is not part of the Kentucky Derby qualifying series, and no Derby points will be awarded to the race's top finishers.

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