Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby, 1 1/8 miles, Oaklawn Park, April 12, 2014
(100 Derby qualifying points for a win, 40 for second, 20 for third, 10 for fourth)

In a “do or die” Kentucky Derby qualifying race for seven of the eight starters, the Todd Pletcher-trained Danza skimmed the rail coming out of the final turn to post a 41-1 upset over Ride On Curlin. Both the top two finishers earned spots in America’s most famous race, while highly touted Bayern finished third as the 8-5 betting favorite.

Santa Anita Derby winner California Chrome will have his own training time at Los Alamitos for the next few weeks in the buildup to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3.

Track officials have dedicated 7:10 to 7:30 a.m. for California Chrome’s daily exercise. The decision was reached after a loose horse was on the track at the same time as California Chrome on Saturday morning, causing anxious moments.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Bob Baffert currently has three horses with sufficient points to run in the Kentucky Derby on May 3, and all soon will be traveling from California to Kentucky, where they will join Bayern, who was sent to Churchill Downs on Sunday following his third-place finish in the Arkansas Derby on Saturday.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Danza was en route to Churchill Downs on Sunday morning after earning a trip to the Kentucky Derby with his victory in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on Saturday. He was assigned a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 102 for his 4 3/4-length win in the Arkansas Derby.

Danza also earned 100 points towards Kentucky Derby eligibility, and becomes the fourth horse his trainer, Todd Pletcher, has on the road to the big dance alongside Constitution, Intense Holiday, and We Miss Artie.

“We’re very fortunate,” Pletcher said Sunday.

Grade 1, $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes, 1 1/8 miles, Polytrack, April 12, 2014
(100 Derby qualifying points for a win, 40 for second, 20 for third, 10 for fourth)

On Keeneland’s synthetic Polytrack racing surface, which favored stretch-runners all day, a pair of 6-1 shots - Dance With Fate and Medal Count - successfully used that running style to earn tickets to the Kentucky Derby. That said, trainer Peter Eurton is not convinced that Dance With Fate should go to Churchill Downs to run for the roses on a dirt surface.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said he probably got his best night’s sleep in two weeks on Saturday, once he learned that Cairo Prince was sitting in the 20th spot on the Kentucky Derby points standings at day’s end, making it likely his horse will have a starting berth in the Derby lineup.

The following morning, a well-rested McLaughlin sent Cairo Prince out for the first of his three scheduled breezes leading up to the Derby, an easy half-mile in 48.77 over a fast track at the Palm Meadows training center here.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Danza came for the points and he went home with the lion’s share of them at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, when he pulled a 41-1 upset in his two-turn debut in Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby. The win was worth 100 points on the preference system used for the Kentucky Derby, and the race is now the target for the 3-year-old colt, said his trainer, Todd Pletcher.

“I would have to think so,” he said. “When you win a major prep race, the first thought is for sure!”

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Dance With Fate might well be the best 3-year-old in North America on a synthetic surface, but whether that will translate into outstanding dirt form is something trainer Peter Eurton will be pondering over the next week or two.

Eurton is faced with whether to run Dance With Fate back in the May 3 Kentucky Derby after the Florida-bred colt, ridden by Corey Nakatani, posted an emphatic 1 3/4-length victory Saturday in the 90th running of the Grade 1, $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes, the annual spring showcase at Keeneland.

Churchill Downs will raise its takeout rates this spring to the maximum allowed by Kentucky law, officials confirmed Friday, a decision that will lower payouts on the track’s races by almost 16 percent in many cases.

Takeout on win, place, and show bets will rise from 16 percent of every betting dollar to 17.5 percent, a jump of 9.4 percent, when Churchill’s spring meet opens April 26, Churchill officials said. Takeout on all other bets, including the most popular wagers, exactas and trifectas, will rise from 19 percent to 22 percent, a jump of 15.8 percent.

STICKNEY, Ill. – The notable exclusion of the Illinois Derby last year from Churchill Downs’s points-based qualifying system for the 20 starting slots in the Kentucky Derby dealt a big blow to Hawthorne Race Course, but it might not be such a calamity after all.