The $50,000 Canterbury Derby on Saturday night’s Northern Stars Turf Festival at Canterbury Park will feature trainer Wesley Ward and jockey David Flores, and an old friend in jockey Luis Quinonez. There also could be an uninvited guest – rain. The forecast for the card of three $50,000 stakes and two $40,000 overnight handicaps was a 95 percent chance of rain. It would cap what is expected to be a week of wet weather. The high for Saturday is 78 degrees. First post is 5:10 p.m. Central. Saturday’s card will feature a pair of pick five wagers with a reduced takeout of 10 percent. The first pick five will start with the first race, and the second will begin in the fourth race. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Ward and Flores have the probable Canterbury Derby favorite in Navy Seal, an Irish-bred runner who is making his North American debut after finishing fifth in the Group 2 U.A.E. Derby. Forever Young, who won the race, returned to run a close third in the Kentucky Derby. Quinonez will ride the Ray Ashford-trainee Illustrator, who was just edged in a Lone Star Park allowance to earn a 78 Beyer Speed Figure, the best last-out figure in the field. Quinonez, who last rode locally in 2018, is a member of the Canterbury Hall of Fame. “Ray Ashford asked us to go ride Illustrator,” said Monte Penney, agent for Quinonez. “We’ve ridden him before. It’s also an opportunity for Luis to spend a little time with his brother. He hasn’t seen his brother in quite some time.” Quinonez’s younger brother, Alonso Quinonez, is a jockey based at Canterbury. Luis Quinonez rides Oaklawn, Lone Star Park, and Remington. Penney said Luis Quinonez also has a Sunday mount at Canterbury and after their obligations the brothers plan to take some time to catch up and play golf. Luis Quinonez guided Illustrator to an 11-length maiden win on turf last year at Remington, and the horse went on to run second in the Texas Turf Mile in January at Sam Houston. The Canterbury Derby is scheduled for a mile on turf, and it drew a field of seven. Navy Seal won his maiden on the grass going one mile at Galway in Ireland. Flores has the mount from the rail for prominent owner Fitriana Hay. Ward has had one career starter at Canterbury, and it came in 2014 when he saddled Politicallycorrect to a fourth-place finish in the Dark Star. The trainer also has notable runner Arrest Me Red in a $40,000 overnight handicap going five furlongs for 3-year-olds and up Saturday. The Grade 2 winner is nearing $1 million in earnings as he brings a bankroll of $974,251 into the race. Arrest Me Red will start from the rail under Flores, who has the mount for Lael Stables. The field of 10 includes Bad Beat Brian, who is coming off a close fifth in the Mighty Beau at Churchill Downs, and Thealligatorhunter, a local who is looking for his first turf win after finishing second by a neck in a three-other-than allowance on the grass this winter at Tampa Bay Downs. The Quinonez brothers will square off in the $40,000 Curtis Sampson Oaks, and their mounts are both scheduled to test turf for the first time in the one-mile race for 3-year-old fillies. Luis Quinonez teams with Ashford-trainee Rainbow Angel, who has won two sprint allowances in her last three races, all at Will Rogers Downs. Alonso Quinonez will be aboard Barbsdreamcometrue, who has run second in both the Goldfinch and Panthers stakes at Prairie Meadows. The wild card in the race might be the promising Xtreme Smoke Show, who is moving to turf for the first time in what is a high-percentage move for trainer Mac Robertson. Xtreme Smoke Show won her maiden last year at Canterbury before capturing a first-level allowance at Keeneland and placing in stakes at Oaklawn. She worked a bullet half-mile in 47.40 seconds on June 14 in advance of what will be her first start since April. Midnight Current goes in the $50,000 Lady Canterbury, a race she was second in last year during a meet where she won two stakes. The one-mile turf race is for fillies and mares, and Midnight Current enters off a runner-up finish in a local allowance that marked her first out since September. The $50,000 Brooks Fields Mile for 3-year-olds and up on turf drew last year’s Canterbury Derby winner, Golden Bandit. He is coming off a dominant win in a local turf allowance, and the Beyer of 89 that he earned is the best last-race number in the field. The turf festival is in its fourth renewal, and the three previous runnings have accounted for the largest single-day handle of the meet at Canterbury. The highlight was $4.7 million in handle from all sources in 2022. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.