HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The $1 million Florida Derby got a little more interesting over the weekend when trainer Brian Lynch confirmed he will redirect Tampa Bay Derby winner Classic Causeway to the Grade 1 fixture on Saturday rather than await the Blue Grass at Keeneland the following week as originally planned.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Mark Casse doesn’t know what went wrong for Pappacap in last month’s Grade 2 Risen Star where the Grade 1 stakes-placed horse finished eighth, 14 1/4 lengths behind Epicenter. What Casse does know is to do what most trainers do in such instances when there’s no evident excuse – draw a line through the race and try again.

Thus, Casse will return Pappacap to the site of his first victory – Gulfstream Park – and run him in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby, a last-ditch effort to make the Kentucky Derby.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Like death and taxes, one of the certainties of our existence is that on the Monday preceding a Saturday stakes race, Steve Asmussen will work his horses an easy half-mile in something like 51 and change for their final tune-up. So on Monday morning, just after the renovation break at Oaklawn, his colt Chasing Time hit right on cue, a half-mile in 51.20 seconds under the supervision of assistant Darren Fleming while readying for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Arkansas Derby.

There are two Grade 1 prep races for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday: the Florida Derby and the Arkansas Derby. Classic Causeway is expected to start in Florida, but the colt has ties to the Arkansas-bred program close up in his pedigree.

Classic Causeway, from the final crop of Giant’s Causeway, is out of Private World, whose dam is the Arkansas-bred mare Rita Rucker.

Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby, 1 3/16 miles, Fair Grounds, March 26, 2022
(100 Derby qualifying points for first, 40 for second, 20 for third, 10 for fourth)

Winner: Epicenter, by Not This Time
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Owner: Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC
Beyer Speed Figure: 102

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- Trainer Brian Lynch said that he wanted to sleep on the decision one more night but in all likelihood plans to call an audible that would re-direct Tampa Bay Derby winner Classic Causeway to the $1 million Florida Derby next Saturday at Gulfstream Park rather than to the Blue Grass at Keeneland the following week as originally intended.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Uno Ojo put in his final work for the Arkansas Derby on Saturday at Oaklawn Park, as the number of rivals the Rebel winner will face is starting to grow. 

The Grade 1, $1.25 million Arkansas Derby is set for next Saturday, April 2. Entries will be taken on Sunday.  

The Skipper Too, who was second to unbeaten We the People in a recent allowance at Oaklawn, is headed for the Arkansas Derby, his new trainer, John Ortiz, said on Saturday. 

The undefeated filly Delicada won Saturday’s $280,580 Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse in Japan to secure a place in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 7, if she is nominated to the American Triple Crown as soon as Monday and the race is deemed a goal.

It was not immediately clear if Delicada would be sent to Kentucky. She was not nominated to the Triple Crown earlier this year. A $6,000 supplemental entry is due on Monday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Crown Pride became the third Japan-based winner on the Dubai World Cup card, wearing down pace-setting Summer Is Tomorrow for a 2 3/4-length victory in the Group 2, $1 million UAE Derby.  

Slow Down Andy could move into the fast lane on the road to the Kentucky Derby with the right kind of performance in Sunday’s Grade 3, $500,000 Sunland Park Derby.

The Southern California shipper figures to start as the favorite in the 1 1/8-mile race, which awards the first four finishers Kentucky Derby points on a scale of 50-20-10-5.

The Sunland Derby is the centerpiece of a card that boasts seven stakes worth a cumulative $1.6 million. It’s the richest afternoon of the meet, and includes the $300,000 Sunland Park Oaks.