Nine new names are in the lineup for Pool 3 of the 2021 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens at noon Eastern on Friday for the customary three-day run.

The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, has been pegged as the 7-2 morning-line favorite in Pool 3 by Churchill Downs linemaker Mike Battaglia, with Essential Quality and Life Is Good the shortest individual interests, both at 8-1. Then come Caddo River (12-1), Greatest Honour (15-1), and Risk Taking (15-1), with all others 20-1 or higher.

Highly regarded 3-year-olds Jackie’s Warrior and Midnight Bourbon on Monday at Fair Grounds had their final workouts for stakes engagements this weekend. Both colts are trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen but are on divergent paths.

Midnight Bourbon already has had a 2021 start, winning the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 16 at Fair Grounds, and he went a half-mile Monday in a moderate 50.20 seconds preparing for Saturday’s Risen Star Stakes in New Orleans.

Grade 3, $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Tampa Bay Downs, Feb. 6, 2021
(10 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Candy Man Rocket, by Candy Ride
Trainer: Bill Mott
Jockey: Junior Alvarado
Owner: Frank Fletcher Racing Operations Inc.
Beyer Speed Figure: 85

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – After lengthy consideration as to whether to give Fire At Will a shot on the Kentucky Derby trail, trainer Mike Maker has decided to switch the winner of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf off the grass and run him in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park.

Maker said Fire At Will “went super” when breezing five furlongs early Saturday in 1:01.60 over a fast Gulfstream main track.

“It looked like he handled it well,” said Maker.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said he is inclined to keep Candy Man Rocket and Nova Rags separated as they proceed down the Kentucky Derby trail after the colts finished one-two Saturday in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs.

Mott told Tampa publicity Sunday he is likely to run one of his Sam Davis runners back in the March 6 Tampa Bay Derby, the annual marquee race at the Oldsmar, Fla., track, while diverting the other to a different spot.

Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes, 1 1/8 miles, Aqueduct, Feb. 6, 2021
(10 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)

Winner: Risk Taking, by Medaglia d’Oro
Trainer: Chad Brown
Jockey: Eric Cancel
Owner: Klaravich Stables
Beyer Speed Figure: 89

Essential Quality, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and champion 2-year-old male of 2020, heads 326 3-year-olds announced Thursday as nominations to this year’s Triple Crown, a list that includes Breeders’ Cup winners Vequist and Fire At Will, too.

Vequist, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies to be named the Eclipse Award winner in her division, is one of 13 fillies nominated to the Triple Crown. Fire At Will won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

Sometimes it seems like Todd Pletcher is beating up on the competition with one hand tied behind his back.

When Pletcher is inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame later this year – an inevitability, even with voting not having yet begun – his remarkable record at Tampa Bay Downs probably won’t even get a mention because his innumerable feats elsewhere will take precedence.

Like most other trainers based on the Atlantic Coast at this time of year, Dale Romans ships the occasional runner across the Florida peninsula to Tampa Bay Downs, mostly for stakes. Predictably, the results have been a mixed bag.

“My history of going over there isn’t all that great, actually,” said Romans, “but I think we might do some good Saturday.”

A wide-open field is expected when entries are taken Wednesday for the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes, with Boca Boy, Smiley Sobotka, and Known Agenda among the 3-year-olds set to clash Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla.

The Sam Davis is one of two designated preps for the May 1 Kentucky Derby this weekend, along with the Withers on Saturday at Aqueduct. Points for both races will be awarded on a 10-4-2-1 scale.