Turfway Park: Spiral Stakes lures full field of 12
CINCINNATI - A full field of 12 3-year-olds was drawn today at the new Horseshoe Casino in downtown Cincinnati for the annual showcase event set for Saturday at nearby Turfway Park, with Uncaptured being listed as a lukewarm 3-1 morning-line favorite for the 1 1/8-mile Polytrack race.
The Grade 3, $550,000 Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati Spiral Stakes will mark the first start of the year for Uncaptured, an Ontario-bred colt who won 6 of 7 starts at 2 for owner John C. Oxley and trainer Mark Casse. Uncaptured, with Miguel Mena to ride, was assigned post 3.
[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]
Other top contenders in the Spiral, which offers 50 points to the winner in the new system being used for Kentucky Derby eligibility, are Balance the Books (Julien Leparoux, post 1,7-2); Capo Bastone (John Velazquez, post 12, 9-2); My Name is Michael (Joel Rosario, post 5, 10-1); Mac the Man (Norberto Arroyo Jr., post 7, 10-1); and Black Onyx (Joe Bravo, post 9, 10-1).
In all, 16 were originally entered, but the other four went instead in the $75,000 Team Valor Rushaway Stakes on the Saturday undercard.
This is the first year Horseshoe has sponsored the Turfway race, which has been known by a variety of names since its 1972 inaugural. The new $450 million casino is located some 20 minutes north of Turfway, just across the Ohio River. Horseshoe and Turfway are both owned in part by Caesars Entertainment.
Post time for the Spiral is 5:48 p.m. Eastern.