Chad Brown likens the approach he and owner Seth Klarman take to building Klarman’s Klaravich Stables to drafting a team, looking for prospects at every position. Potential contenders for the spring classics – the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont – are an important part of the roster, to be sure, but so is finding horses like Bricks and Mortar, their 2019 Horse of the Year. They want horses who can run short or long, on turf and dirt, be it colts or fillies. That makes what they’ve accomplished so far this spring all the more remarkable. They are going up against entities that focus their attention – and their capital – almost exclusively, if not wholly so, on 3-year-old males intended for the classics, yet heading into this weekend Brown and Klarman have three horses on the Derby Watch top 20, all of whom will be racing in a major stakes Saturday in the hope of moving on to the Derby on May 1. Crowded Trade, second last time out in the Gotham, and Risk Taking, winner of the Withers, are set for the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, while Highly Motivated, third in the Gotham, goes in the Grade 1 Blue Grass at Keeneland. “You have to be right,” Brown, in a telephone interview, said about the draft choices they make. “Sometimes we’re buying colts against people who only want colts, and sometimes we’re buying fillies against people who only want fillies, and you’re often going up against a lot of partnerships. But we’re not trying to draft for one position. It’s like trying to build a ball team. We’re drafting for different positions.” If the 3-year-old males are the starting pitchers, they’ve got a terrific rotation right now, all acquired without significant outlay. Crowded Trade, a son of More Than Ready, was purchased on their behalf by Nick DeMeric as a weanling in November 2018 at Keeneland for $185,000. Highly Motivated, by super sire Into Mischief, became the sole property of Klaravich at the same sale, hammered down for $240,000 while dissolving a partnership in which Klaravich bred the colt. Risk Taking, by Medaglia d’Oro, was purchased as a yearling at Keeneland in September 2019 for $240,000, with agent Mike Ryan, an integral part of the draft team, signing the ticket. “Seth’s view is to adjust to market conditions,” Brown said. “If he sees some areas of the market are crowded, he may start looking elsewhere. We strategize to see where we can find the most value. “So that may end up being yearlings, or going to Tattersalls,” he said, referring to the Newmarket, England, sale where they picked up horses like Newspaperofrecord, winner of the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. “As the market shifts, we try to adjust and buy at reasonable prices. We’re always open to building the roster using different avenues, not just one strategy.” Their best 3-year-olds to date include Cloud Computing, who won the 2017 Preakness, and Practical Joke, who was fifth in the 2017 Derby but won Grade 1 races at both 2 and 3 and whose first crop of runners, now age 2, have been extremely well received. Brown sees similarities to that pair in two of his three current prospects. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2021: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more “Crowded Trade reminds me of Cloud Computing,” Brown said. “I’m not saying he’s going to win the Preakness, but he got started late, he might want a touch below a mile and a quarter. We ran Cloud in the Wood and then waited for the Preakness. Crowded Trade has 20 points, and you don’t want to throw those away, so we’ve got to give him the chance at least. This will tell.” Highly Motivated is whom Brown compares to Practical Joke, right down to having a son of Into Mischief trying to get to the Derby with the Blue Grass – in which Practical Joke finished second – as a final prep. “We’re cautiously optimistic he can get the distance,” Brown said. “Going into the winter, we weren’t so sure, but the last four to six weeks he’s worked in a way to give us confidence he can get a mile and an eighth. He acts like he might have a little more range than Practical Joke. We’ll see.” Risk Taking is already proven at 1 1/8 miles, having won twice, including the Withers. He is 2 for 2 in two-turn dirt races and with blinkers. “I did a poor job placing him. I ran him too short to start, and since he had a pedigree that looked good for turf, I ran him second time on grass,” Brown said. “Once he got two turns and blinkers, he showed us what he had been showing us last summer, when we thought he was a Derby-type horse. He’s going to have to improve. He’s going forward, but he can’t stop.” ◗ Nine horses, including Tampa Bay Derby winner Helium and Gotham winner Weyburn, were announced Wednesday as late nominees to the Triple Crown for $6,000, joining the 326 who were made eligible at the early deadline in January for $600. The other seven late nominees are Back Ring Luck, Carrothers, Hockey Dad, It’s My House, Maythehorsebwithu, Panadol, and Tiz Mandate.