When the Grade 2, $500,000 Lane's End Stakes is run on Saturday at Turfway Park, it will mark the biggest race to date on the artificial Polytrack surface. Polytrack has been warmly received by trainers who race and train over it, and trainer John Ward Jr. cited it this week as one of the reasons he is sending his unbeaten colt Strong Contender to Turfway for his stakes debut.
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DRF Past Performances
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Who's Hot, Who's Not
WHO'S HOT: Discreet Cat, who captured his lone start last year at Saratoga and was a runaway winner of his 2006 debut last week at Nad Al Sheba, is the only newcomer to this week's Derby Watch top 25. He is 40-1 on the Kentucky Derby future line set by Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form's national handicapper. Cause to Believe, who won last Saturday's California Derby, is now 30-1 after being 40-1 one week ago.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Quite a bit has been expected from A.P. Warrior. Such is the yoke a $1.3 million yearling, by A.P. Indy, has hanging around his neck. By last fall, A.P. Warrior seemed on the verge of becoming one of the West Coast's top Kentucky Derby prospects. He finished only three-quarters of a length behind Brother Derek in the Norfolk Stakes, then crushed Bob and John by four lengths in an allowance race.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Racing fans betting into Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby and Oaks future wagers essentially proclaimed the results of the past weekend inconclusive, as they once again made the mutuel field the favorite in each pool.
The field, the "all others" alternative to the 23 separately listed wagering interests, closed as the 3-1 favorite in the Derby futures and as the 9-2 choice in the Oaks futures.
Barbican, who was a member of Daily Racing Form's latest Kentucky Derby Watch top 25 and had been an individual betting interest in Pool 2 of the Derby Future Wager, has been injured and will be out at least several months, it was announced early Friday. Churchill Downs immediately suspended wagers on Barbican before betting into Pool 2 opened Friday.
The mutuel field was the 3-2 favorite after relatively light wagering in the early hours of Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opened Thursday at noon Eastern.
As of 4 p.m. Eastern, handle into the win-only Future Wager stood at $20,453. Pool 2 closes Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern.
The mutuel field is the 24th, or "all others," alternative to the 23 separately listed wagering interests. Next in line were Bluegrass Cat (11-1), Lawyer Ron (12-1), Brother Derek (12-1), and First Samurai (15-1).
The ability of a horse to successfully stretch out around two turns is a factor that has intrigued handicappers and made trainers anxious for decades. The test becomes particularly magnified in the spring, when 3-year-olds take that intermediate step toward proving whether they are worthy of going to the Kentucky Derby.
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Who's Hot, Who's Not
WHO'S HOT: Cause to Believe, the El Camino Real Derby winner, was the first alternate last week, and he moved onto the Derby Watch top 25 list this week when space became available. He is 40-1 on the Kentucky Derby future line set by Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form's national handicapper. Lawyer Ron, who captured the Southwest Stakes, is down to 25-1 after being 30-1 last week. Steppenwolfer, the Southwest runner-up, is down to 40-1 from last week's 60-1.