Three-year-old colt Proxy had notched easy dirt-route maiden and allowance wins early in the Fair Grounds meet, but showed more in defeat this past Saturday than in those victories.

:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2021: Point standings, prep schedule, news, and more

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park’s popular and proven road to the Kentucky Derby starts Friday with the running of the $150,000 Smarty Jones.

The top two choices in the field of seven – Cowan and Caddo River – hail from the respective barns of Eclipse Awards trainer finalists Steve Asmussen and Brad Cox.

The Smarty Jones, a mile stakes that ends at the sixteenth pole, is one of four Kentucky Derby points races at the Oaklawn meet, which also is home to the Southwest, Rebel, and Arkansas Derby. The first four finishers Friday will earn points on a scale of 10-4-2-1.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Eight weeks after the first pool was held, no fewer than 14 new names are in the 23-horse lineup for Pool 2 of the 2021 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens Friday at noon Eastern for the customary three-day run.

Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Fair Grounds, Jan. 16, 2021

(10 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)

Winner: Midnight Bourbon, by Tiznow

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Jockey: Joe Talamo

Owner: Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC

Beyer Speed Figure: 91

Steve Asmussen said Midnight Bourbon would be a considerably better 3-year-old than he was a 2-year-old, and not even three weeks into the colt’s sophomore season, that prediction looks prescient.

Racing for the first time since he finished third, beaten more than 14 lengths by stablemate Jackie’s Warrior in the Oct. 14 Champagne Stakes – and starting for the first time in a two-turn race -- Midnight Bourbon led gate to wire under Joe Talamo and captured the Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte Stakes by one length Saturday at Fair Grounds.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Capo Kane, the dominant 6 1/4-length winner of the $150,000 Jerome Stakes here on New Year’s Day, will likely return to Aqueduct for the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes on Feb. 6, trainer Harold Wyner said Monday.

Wyner, who is based at Parx Racing, said Capo Kane came out of the one-mile Jerome “real well,” and that the Withers, at 1 1/8 miles, is the next logical target for the California-bred son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense.

ARCADIA, Calif. - A certain Saturday at the start of May was foremost on Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s mind Sunday morning, a day after an attractive 1-2 finish by stablemates Life Is Good and Medina Spirit in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita.

“They’ve got four months to improve,” Baffert said.

Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes, one mile, Santa Anita, Jan. 2, 2021
(10 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)

Winner: Life Is Good, by Into Mischief
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Mike Smith
Owner: CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm
Beyer Speed Figure: 101

Listed, $145,500 Jerome Stakes, one mile, Aqueduct, Jan. 1, 2021
(10 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)

Winner: Capo Kane, by Street Sense
Trainer: Harold Wyner
Jockey: Dylan Davis
Owner: Bing Cherry Racing and Leonard Liberto
Beyer Speed Figure: 84

OZONE PARK, N.Y. -  Before Ny Traffic became a staple in Kentucky Derby prep races for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. last year, he was a nondescript New York-bred running at Parx Racing for trainer Harold Wyner.

Wyner, who bought Ny Traffic for $27,000, advised owners John Fanelli and Leonard Liberto to send the horse to Florida and was glad he did after COVID-19 hit, shutting down racing operations at Parx and New York beginning in March.