Kentucky Derby 2023: Look over Saturday’s field of 19
Is there a super horse in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby?
Maybe.
Forte was the nation’s top 2-year-old, and his 3-year-old season features victories in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and Florida Derby.
Kingsbarns hasn’t lost and dominated the Louisiana Derby the last time out, but that was only the colt’s third race.
Tapit Trice has won four in a row, including the Tampa Bay Derby and the Blue Grass Stakes. But two of those victories came by a neck.
And there are 16 other colts in the field.
One of them will have the opportunity to become a super horse after the 149th Run for the Roses.
Last year’s Kentucky Derby was viewed as a wide-open race, and Rich Strike drove that home by winning at 80-1, the second-longest long shot to win the race.
This year’s race looks like Forte’s to lose, and field isn’t as strong on Saturday as it was on Monday, when post positions were drawn for a field of 20. Four horses have been scratched this week, including Santa Anita Derby winner Practical Move and Wood Memorial winner Lord Miles.
Forte has won four Grade 1 stakes. The rest of the field has won two – Tapit Trice in the Blue Grass Stakes and Angel of Empire in the Arkansas Derby.
Five entrants have had win, place or show after their names in every race. Joining Kingsbarns as the colts who have never finished out of the money are Disarm, Mandarin Hero, Reincarnate and Tapit Trice.
The 3-year-olds qualified for the Kentucky Derby through a series of 35 point-awarding races. Forte collected the most points in the Race to the Kentucky Derby.
They’re scheduled to break from the gate at 5:57 p.m. CDT Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, in pursuit of the $1.86 million and the opportunity for thoroughbred-racing immortality that goes to the winner.
Here’s a rundown on the field (arranged by post position with morning-line odds):
Hit Show: 30-1 from Post Position 1
Hit Show opened his 3-year-old season with his third victory in four races. In his graded-stakes debut, Hit Show won the Grade 3 Withers Stakes on Feb. 11 by pulling away from Arctic Arrogance for a 5.5-length victory. But at the Grade 2 Wood Memorial and running as the favorite, the colt lost by a nose to 59-1 long shot Lord Miles. Trainer: Brad Cox, who won the 2021 Kentucky Derby with Mandaloun. Jockey: Manny Franco. Record: 5-3-1-0. Earnings: $404,375. Pedigree: Actress by Candy Ride.
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Verifying: 15-1 from Post Position 2
Verifying has picked up his victories in his two non-graded races. The colt ran second in a Grade 1 race in his second outing on Oct. 1 in the Champagne Stakes. Then came a sixth-place showing in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. After a victory at Oaklawn Park on Jan. 14, Verifying finished fourth as the favorite at the track in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes before being beaten by a nose by Tapit Trice in the Blue Grass Stakes on April 8. Trainer: Brad Cox. Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione. Record: 6-2-2-0. Earnings: $489,900. Pedigree: Diva Delite by Justify.
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Two Phil’s: 12-1 from Post Position 3
Two Phil’s rebounded from a seventh-place run in his first graded-stakes outing – the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity – on Oct. 8 to win the Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes by 5.25 lengths at Churchill Downs 22 days later. Two Phil’s comes back to Louisville off another 5.25-length, Grade 3 victory in the Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 25, when he beat the favorite Major Dude. In between the victories, the colt ran second in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 21 and third in the Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 18. Trainer: Larry Rivelli. Jockey: Jareth Loveberry. Record: 8-4-1-1. Earnings: $683,450. Pedigree: Mia Torri by Hard Spun.
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Confidence Game: 20-1 from Post Position 4
Confidence Game ran four of the five races in his 2-year-old campaign at Churchill Downs, with two wins, but also a fifth-place showing in the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes. As a 3-year-old, Confidence Game faded to a third-place finish behind Instant Coffee and Two Phil’s in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 21. The colt comes to the Kentucky Derby with a long layoff since a strong run at the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes on Feb. 25, when Confidence Game beat Red Route One by 1 length on a sloppy track. Trainer: Keith Desormeaux. Jockey: James Graham. Record: 7-3-1-2. Earnings: $785,525. Pedigree: Eblouissante by Candy Ride.
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Tapit Trice: 5-1 from Post Position 5
Tapit Trice had a third-place showing in his first race at Aqueduct on Nov. 6 and has run off four victories since. The past two have come in graded stakes. On March 11, Tapit Trice won the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby by running from eighth entering the stretch to a 2-length victory over Classic Car Wash. At the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes on April 8, Tapit Trice trailed by 4 lengths entering the stretch and edged Verifying for the victory. It was the second win by a neck on Tapit Trice’s record. Trainer: Todd Pletcher, who won the 2010 Kentucky Derby with Super Saver and the 2017 Kentucky Derby with Always Dreaming. Jockey: Luis Saez. Record: 5-4-0-1. Earnings: $883,650. Pedigree: Danzatrice by Tapit.
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Kingsbarns: 12-1 from Post Position 6
Kingsbarns did not race as a 2-year-old and has one graded-stakes outing on his unblemished record. In the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 25, the colt dominated for a 3.25-length victory over Disarm. The previous victory at Tampa Bay on Feb. 12 had come by 7.75 lengths. Trainer: Todd Pletcher, who won the 2010 Kentucky Derby with Super Saver and the 2017 Kentucky Derby with Always Dreaming. Jockey: Jose Ortiz. Record: 3-3-0-0. Earnings: $657,000. Pedigree: Lady Tapit by Uncle Mo.
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Reincarnate: 50-1 from Post Position 7
Reincarnate has never run out of the money in seven races at three tracks. The colt’s victories came back-to-back on Nov. 25 at Del Mar wire-to-wire and Jan. 8 at Santa Anita by a neck over Newgate in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes. Since then, Reincarnate ran third to Confidence Game and Red Route One in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes on Feb. 25 and to Angel of Empire and King Russell in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on April 1. Trainer: Tim Yakteen. Jockey: John Velazquez, who won the 2011 Kentucky Derby on Animal Kingdom, the 2017 Kentucky Derby on Always Dreaming and the 2020 Kentucky Derby on Authentic. Record: 7-2-3-2. Earnings: $345,650. Pedigree: Allanah by Good Magic.
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Mage: 15-1 from Post Position 8
Mage didn’t race as 2-year-old, then won almost wire-to-wire with the second-longest odds in the field the first time out at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 28. The colt’s other two races were won by Forte, as Mage ran fourth in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 4 and second by 1 length in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on April 1. Trainer: Gustavo Delgado. Jockey: Javier Castellano. Record: 3-1-1-0. Earnings: $247,200. Pedigree: Puca by Good Magic.
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Disarm: 30-1 from Post Position 9
Disarm has run five races at five tracks and never finished out of the money. His lone win came by 6.25 lengths at Saratoga on Aug. 6 in his second outing. In his past two races, Disarm finished second by 3.5 lengths to Kingsbarns in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 25 and an uninvolved third in the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes on April 15. Trainer: Steve Asmussen. Jockey: Joel Rosario, who won the 2013 Kentucky Derby on Orb. Record: 5-1-2-2. Earnings: $327,850. Pedigree: Easy Tap by Gun Runner.
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Jace’s Road: 15-1 from Post Position 10
Jace’s Road has been all over the place with his results. After an eighth-place finish in the Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes on Oct. 30, the colt won the Gun Runner Stakes by 5.5 lengths over Raise Cain on Dec. 26. As a 3-year-old, Jace’s Road ran fifth in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes, fading to finish 12.75 lengths behind winner Arabian Knight, and came home third in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, 6.25 lengths behind winner Kingsbarns. Trainer: Brad Cox, who won the 2021 Kentucky Derby with Mandaloun. Jockey: Florent Geroux, who won the 2021 Kentucky Derby on Madaloun. Record: 6-2-0-2. Earnings: $238,050. Pedigree: Out Post by Quality Road.
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Sun Thunder: 50-1 from Post Position 11
Sun Thunder won in his second race on Dec. 31 by 6.5 lengths over King Russell. But it’s been a second, two fourths and a fifth since in graded stakes. The colt wasn’t a factor in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes on Jan. 28, Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 25 or the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes on April 8. In the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 18, Sun Thunder finished second by a length to Angel of Empire after a big run had put the colt in front in the stretch. Trainer: Kenneth McPeek. Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr. Record: 6-1-1-1. Earnings: $247,500. Pedigree: Greenfield D’Oro by Into Mischief.
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Angel of Empire: 8-1 from Post Position 12
Angel of Empire has two graded stakes on his resume, and the colt won both. On Feb. 18, Angel of Empire won the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes in Louisiana, then captured the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on April 1. In the Risen Star, Angel of Empire came from third in the stretch to beat Sun Thunder by 1 length. In Arkansas, the colt rolled to a 4.25-length victory over King Russell. Trainer: Brad Cox, who won the 2021 Kentucky Derby with Mandaloun. Jockey: Flavien Pratt, who won the 2019 Kentucky Derby on Country House. Record: 6-4-1-0. Earnings: $1,069,375. Pedigree: Armony’s Angel by Classic Empire.
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Forte: 3-1 from Post Position 13
Forte finished fourth in his first stakes outing, the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes, on July 16, then won three Grade 1 races – Hopeful Stakes, Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile – to capture the Eclipse Award as the nation’s best 2-year-old. As a 3-year-old, the hard-charging stretch runner has won the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 4 and the Grade 1 Florida Derby on April 1 at Gulfstream Park to stand at the top of the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard heading into the Run for the Roses. Trainer: Todd Pletcher, who won the 2010 Kentucky Derby with Super Saver and the 2017 Kentucky Derby with Always Dreaming. Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. Record: 7-6-0-0. Earnings: $2,409,830. Pedigree: Queen Caroline by Violence.
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Raise Cain: 50-1 from Post Position 14
Raise Cain didn’t make his graded-stakes debut until his sixth race on March 4, and he won the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes by 7.5 lengths over Slip Mahoney at 23-1 on a muddy track. But the late-running colt came back a month later and was a non-factor in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes with a fifth-place finish 7 lengths behind winner Tapit Trice. Trainer: Ben Colebrook. Jockey: Gerardo Corrales. Record: 7-2-1-1. Earnings: $296,328. Pedigree: Lemon Belle by Violence.
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Derma Sotogake: 10-1 from Post Position 15
Derma Sotogake didn’t finish better than third in his first four races but hasn’t finished worse than third in his past four – and three of those are victories. The Japanese colt has come to Churchill Downs via the Middle East. Derma Sotogake won the Grade 2 UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse the last time out on March 25. Trainer: Hidetaka Otonashi. Jockey: Christophe Lemaire. Record: 8-4-0-2. Earnings: $1,162.164. Pedigree: Amour Poesie by Mind Your Biscuits.
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Rocket Can: 30-1 from Post Position 16
Rocket Can has seen diminishing returns as he has moved up in competition. In the colt’s graded-stakes debut on Feb. 4, Rocket Can held the lead through the stretch in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes to win by three-quarters of a length over Shadow Dragon. In the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 4, Forte ran past Rocket Can in the stretch, leaving him with a second-place showing 4.5 lengths behind. In the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on April 1, Rocket Can ran fourth behind Angel of Empire, King Russell and Reincarnate. Trainer: William Mott, who won the 2019 Kentucky Derby with Country House. Jockey: Junior Alvarado. Record: 7-2-2-0. Earnings: $383,413. Pedigree: Tension by Into Mischief.
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Cyclone Mischief: 30-1 from Post Position 17
Cyclone Mischief is in the Kentucky Derby because Santa Anita Derby winner Practical Move scratched on Thursday because of an elevated temperature. Cyclone Mischief finished third in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on April 1 – 3 lengths behind Forte, with Mage in between. The colt also ran third behind Forte and Rocket Can in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 4. Those were a step up from the seventh-place finish in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes – 11.75 lengths behind winner Rocket Can on Feb. 4. Cyclone Mischief’s only other graded-stakes outing came in a seventh-place finish in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes on Nov. 26. Trainer: Dale Romans. Jockey: Corey Lanerie. Record: 7-2-0-3. Earnings: $246,350. Pedigree: Areyoucominghere by Into Mischief.
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Mandarin Hero: 20-1 from Post Position 18
Mandarin Hero got into the Kentucky Derby when Churchill Downs suspended trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. on Thursday, knocking Lord Miles out of the Kentucky Derby Field. After winning four times in five races in Japan, Mandarin Hero finished second by a nose to Practical Move in the Santa Anita Derby in his U.S. debut. Trainer: Terunobu Fujuita. Jockey: Kazushi Kimura. Record: 6-4-2-0. Earnings: $386,854. Pedigree: Namura Nadeshiko by Shanghai Bobby.
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King Russell: 50-1 from Post Position 19
King Russell comes to the Kentucky Derby off a second-place finish at the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on April 1, when the colt came in 4.25 lengths behind Angel of Empire. That is King Russell’s only graded-stakes outing, and the colt got into the Kentucky Derby field when Continuar scratched on Thursday. After starting his racing career with fifth- and 10th-place finishes, King Russell has three seconds and one first since. Trainer: Ron Moquett. Jockey: Rafael Bejarano. Record: 6-1-3-0. Earnings: $322,350. Pedigree: Believe You Will by Creative Cause.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.