11 horses set to run in 100th Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. See the full field with odds.
The full field, with post positions, is now known for a historic running of one of the most important Kentucky Derby prep races.
At 5:52 p.m. Saturday, the 100th running of the Grade 1, $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes will be held at Keeneland.
A field of 11 horses will go 1 1/8 miles on the Keeneland dirt, with plenty of Kentucky Derby qualifying points up for grabs — the top five finishers will earn points on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale.
Kentucky Derby 150 — to be run May 4 at Churchill Downs in Louisville — will feature the top 20 points earners and invitees.
Here are the results of Tuesday’s post position draw for the Blue Grass Stakes, along with the trainer, jockey, morning line odds and other information for each of the 11 runners in the field.
Toyota Blue Grass Stakes post position draw
▪ 1—Top Conor (Chad Brown, Jose Ortiz). Morning line odds of 15-1.
Top Conor is 1-0-0 in only one career start, a victory in a maiden special weight race in February at Gulfstream.
Ortiz, the jockey, won the Blue Grass Stakes in 2018 aboard Good Magic.
▪ 2—Be You (Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr.). Morning line odds of 8-1.
Be You is 1-1-1 in six career starts, with his only win coming in his most recent race, a maiden special weight race in early March at Gulfstream.
Be You previously finished third in the Grade 1 American Pharoah at Santa Anita and fourth in the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga.
Pletcher, the trainer, won the Blue Grass Stakes with Tapit Trice last year and also has Blue Grass Stakes victories with Bandini (2005), Monba (2008) and Carpe Diem (2015).
Be You is 66th on the Derby leaderboard with three points.
▪ 3—Seize the Grey (D. Wayne Lukas, Nik Juarez). Morning line odds of 20-1.
Seize the Grey is 2-0-3 in seven career starts, including a fourth-place showing in the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes in September at Churchill Downs and a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Streaks last month at Turfway.
Lukas, the 88-year-old trainer, has a pair of previous wins in the Blue Grass Stakes with War in 1987 and High Yield in 2000.
Seize the Grey is 22nd on the Derby leaderboard with 27 points.
▪ 4—Dornoch (Danny Gargan, Luis Saez). Morning line odds of 3-1.
Dornoch is 3-2-0 in five career starts and has won three straight races, including the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes in December at Aqueduct and the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes last month at Gulfstream.
Dornoch is a full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage.
“That’s a good spot,” trainer Danny Gargan said of Dornoch being placed in post position 4. “He came out of the 3 hole in the Fountain of Youth and the Remsen. He will come out of there running and make his way through.”
Saez, the jockey, is a three-time Blue Grass Stakes winner with triumphs aboard Tapit Trice (2023), Essential Quality (2021) and Brody’s Cause (2016). Six other jockeys have won the Blue Grass Stakes in consecutive years.
Dornoch is 10th on the Derby leaderboard with 60 points.
▪ 5—Good Money (Chad Brown, Javier Castellano). Morning line odds of 20-1.
Good Money is 1-0-0 in two career starts. The win came in a maiden special weight race in January at Tampa Bay. Good Money finished fourth in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby last month.
Castellano, the jockey, won the 2019 Blue Grass Stakes aboard Vekoma.
The horse is 48th on the Derby leaderboard with 10 points.
▪ 6—Just a Touch (Brad Cox, Florent Geroux). Morning line odds of 7-2.
Just a Touch is 1-1-0 in two career starts, including a second-place showing in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes last month at Aqueduct. Both of his starts have come on sealed sloppy tracks.
Just a Touch worked 5 furlongs in 59.20 seconds over a wet-fast track on Sunday morning at Keeneland.
Cox, the trainer, won the Blue Grass Stakes in 2021 with Essential Quality.
The horse is 27th on the Derby leaderboard with 25 points.
▪ 7—Lat Long (Kenny McPeek, Brian Hernandez Jr.). Morning line odds of 30-1.
Lat Long is 1-1-4 in six career starts. Five of these starts, including Lat Long’s only win, came in maiden special weight races.
Most recently, Lat Long ran third in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes in January at Fair Grounds.
McPeek, the trainer, has a pair of Blue Grass Stakes wins with Harlan’s Holiday (2002) and Java’s War (2013).
Hernandez, the jockey, won the 2020 Blue Grass Stakes with Art Collector.
The horse is 53rd on the Derby leaderboard with six points.
▪ 8—Epic Ride (John Ennis, Adam Beschizza). Morning line odds of 20-1.
Epic Ride is 2-2-0 in four career starts, all of which have come at Turfway Park in Florence. Epic Ride ran second in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes last month.
The horse is 43rd on the Derby leaderboard with 10 points.
▪ 9—Mugatu (Jeff Engler, Joe Talamo). Morning line odds of 30-1.
Mugatu is 1-1-3 in 11 career starts. His only win came last November in a maiden special weight race at Gulfstream.
Mugatu recently finished fourth in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes (Listed) last month at Turfway.
Earlier this week, Mugatu was made eligible for the Triple Crown.
▪ 10—Sierra Leone (Chad Brown, Tyler Gaffalione). Morning line odds of 2-1.
Sierra Leone, the morning line favorite for the Blue Grass Stakes, is 2-1-0 in three career starts and ran second in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes in December at Aqueduct before winning the Grade 2 Risen Star in February at Fair Grounds.
Brown — the trainer of three Blue Grass Stakes horses this year in Top Conor, Good Money and Sierra Leone — is a two-time Blue Grass Stakes winner. Brown won the Blue Grass Stakes with Good Magic in 2018 and Zandon in 2022.
Sierra Leone is 12th on the Derby leaderboard with 55 points.
▪ 11—Encino (Brad Cox, Flavien Prat). Morning line odds of 12-1.
Encino is 2-1-0 in three career starts, all of which have come at Turfway Park in Florence. Encino won the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes last month. His preparation for the Blue Grass Stakes also included a 5-furlong breeze in 1:01 on a fast main track last weekend at Keeneland.
Prat, the jockey, won the 2022 Blue Grass Stakes aboard Zandon.
The horse is 29th on the Derby leaderboard with 20 points.
Saturday
100th running of Toyota Blue Grass Stakes
What: $1 million Grade 1 stakes race for 3-year-olds on dirt, a major prep race for next month’s Kentucky Derby
Where: Keeneland Race Course
Post time: 5:52 p.m. (10th race of an 11-race card)
Distance: 1 1/8 miles
TV: FanDuel TV
