(Through Thursday)
JOCKEYS / WINS
Flavien Prat / 70
Juan Hernandez / 49
John Velazquez / 31
Diego Herrera / 27
Two tied / 24
TRAINERS / WINS
Philip D’Amato / 30
Doug O’Neill / 27
Bob Baffert / 26
John Sadler / 22
Richard Baltas / 19
Saturday
• $100,000 Singletary Stakes, 3-year-olds, 1 mile (turf)
• A field of 11, including 5-2 morning-line favorite Simplification for trainer Antonio Sano, was entered Wednesday for Saturday’s $1 million Grade I Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. Simplification, a Florida-bred son of Not This Time, goes into the race off a victory in the Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 5. White Abarrio, who beat Simplification by 4 1/2 lengths in the Holy Bull Stakes on Feb. 5 after the latter blew the break and raced wide throughout, was installed as the 3-1 second choice. The Florida Derby has produced 24 Kentucky Derby winners, most of any prep in the country. Post time is 3:38 p.m.
• Nine horses, headed by the D. Wayne Lukas-trained filly Secret Oath, will go postward in Saturday’s $1.25 million Grade I Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. Secret Oath, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, will be making her first start against colts, but Lukas has a history of success with 3-year-old fillies against the boys. He won the 1988 Kentucky Derby with Winning Colors, only the third filly to win the Derby, and the 1984 Arkansas Derby with Althea. A daughter of the late Arrogate, Secret Oath has won her past three starts at Oaklawn against fillies by a combined 23 lengths. Post time is 4:35 p.m.
• The final Kentucky Derby Future Wager, originally scheduled for this weekend, has been pushed back to April 7-9. Darren Rogers, Churchill Downs’ senior director of communications and media services, said in a statement that the change is in the best interest of bettors to allow a clearer picture after this weekend’s major Derby preps and “to better understand the status of horses who intend to ship to Churchill Downs for Kentucky Derby 148.” The field of 24 betting interests will be announced Tuesday and the pool will close before the running of the Santa Anita Derby, Wood Memorial and Blue Grass Stakes on April 9.
— Art Wilson
