Fair Grounds Oaks winner Life of Joy, who was considered one of the early favorites for the Kentucky Oaks, has been declared out of the race as the picture for the filly classic continues to take shape. Trainer Brad Cox told Churchill Downs representatives on Tuesday evening that Life of Joy – a stakes winner last fall at Churchill who impressively won the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks over Bella Ballerina on March 21 – has incurred a “minor setback” and will be pointed to a fall campaign. The Grade 1, $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks on Friday, May 1, is limited to 14 starters, with as many as four also-eligibles permitted to be listed on the program. At least 14 horses have entered the Oaks in 10 of the last 11 years, with the pandemic-rescheduled Oaks of September 2020 the lone exception. Entries are to be taken and post positions drawn on Saturday, April 25, opening day of Churchill’s spring meet; all entrants for both the Oaks and Derby must be on the grounds by 11 a.m. that day. As with the Derby, field preference for the Oaks is determined by points accrued in designated races. With Life of Joy’s defection, the top 14 fillies still under consideration for the Oaks, in points order, as of the Wednesday morning were Meaning, Percy’s Bar, Bella Ballerina, Counting Stars, Prom Queen, Always a Runner, Explora, Zany, She Be Smooth, My Miss Mo, Search Party, Pashmina, Paradise, and Bottle of Rouge. Meaning, winner of the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks in the final major round of preps; Percy’s Bar, winner of the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes the same weekend; and Counting Stars, winner of the Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes on March 27 to cap off Oaklawn’s series of preps; could vie for favoritism. Explora, who emerged as one of the Oaks favorites this winter, was already safely in the field on points when she was scratched from the Fantasy due to a minor illness. Earlier this month, trainer Bob Baffert stated he planned to train the filly, who last raced winning the Grade 3 Honeybee on March 1, up to the Oaks. Explora returned to the work tab on April 6 at Santa Anita and then posted a six-furlong work from the starting gate on April 11. :: Get DRF Kentucky Oaks & Derby Betting Strategies by Marcus Hersh and David Aragona. Full analysis and wager recommendations! Nominations for the Oaks undercard stakes, including two rich alternatives for 3-year-old fillies, closed April 8, meaning some horses were nominated elsewhere to keep their options open. With the deadline falling prior to Explora’s most recent work, which seemingly moved her forward, she was nominated to the Grade 2, $700,000 Eight Belles Stakes at seven furlongs on the undercard. She Be Smooth, Pashmina, Paradise, and Bottle of Rouge also were nominated. The latter three were farther down the preference list at the time of nominations closing. Next on the preference list, following Bottle of Rouge, is Lorelei Lee in 15th, followed by Brooklyn Blonde, Dazzling Dame, and Lovely Grey. Brooklyn Blonde and Dazzling Dame have been nominated to the Eight Belles. Lorelei Lee and Lovely Grey were not among the 89 early Kentucky Oaks nominees for a $200 fee, announced in February, and were made eligible with a $1,500 payment prior to the April 8 late nomination deadline. The fillies, who were first and second, respectively, in the Bourbonette Oaks on March 21 on Turfway Park’s Tapeta, would now need help to make the Oaks field. Both have been nominated to the Grade 2, $600,000 Edgewood Stakes on turf on the undercard. – additional reporting by Brad Free :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.