The field is set for the 99th Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. See the full field with odds.

Tapit Trice, a spectacular last-to-first winner of his most recent race for trainer Todd Pletcher, was installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite Wednesday for Saturday’s $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland Race Course.

The 1 1/8-mile Blue Grass is Keeneland’s richest contest of the Spring Meet and serves as an important prep race for 3-year-olds on the road to the Kentucky Derby.

Saturday’s race, the 99th edition of the Blue Grass, is scheduled to go to post at 5:15 p.m. It provides 100 Kentucky Derby points to the winner. The second-place finisher receives 40, third place gets 30, fourth place 20 and fifth place 10.

Tapit Trice, owned by Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable, is the second-highest-ranking Blue Grass entrant on the Kentucky Derby qualifying leaderboard with 50 points, which is currently good for 11th place.

In addition to the 200 points in play in Lexington on Saturday, the same total will be distributed Saturday in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and the Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita.

After Saturday, only one opportunity remains to collect Kentucky Derby points, that being the Stonestreet Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 15, which offers 20 points to the winner, eight for second, six for third, four for fourth and two for fifth.

The Kentucky Derby is scheduled for May 6 at Churchill Downs, with a maximum field of 20 assembled from the Derby points standings.

Bottom line: Most of the field racing in the Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday could stand to pick up some points to assure entry into the Run for the Roses.

Tapit Trice, who won the $400,000, Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs in his most recent start on March 11, drew the inside No. 1 post position Wednesday among 11 contenders for the Blue Grass.

“Not exactly the draw we wanted, but he did win the allowance race at Gulfstream Park from post one,” Pletcher said.

Tapit Trice, ridden by Luis Saez, has won three of his four career starts, including the last three in a row, and has career earnings of $310,150. The son of Tapit overcame a bad break from the gate in the Tampa Bay Derby to work his way into contention, then circled the field at the top of the stretch and roared past them all for a 2-length victory.

The top challenger figures to be Louisville-based trainer Brad Cox’s Verifying, the 3-1 second choice ridden by Tyler Gaffalione out of post No. 3. Verifying ran sixth in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland and was fourth, most recently, in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 25.

Raise Cain, winner of the $300,000, Grade 3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on March 4, is the 9-2 third choice in the Blue Grass under the care of trainer Ben Colebrook. Raise Cain, who will be ridden Saturday by Joel Rosario from post position No. 10, ranks ninth on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 54 points, the most of any of this year’s Blue Grass Stakes contenders. Colebrook also trains Blue Grass entrant Scoobie Quando (15-1).

Chad Brown’s Blazing Sevens (6-1) has shown the potential to be dangerous despite finishing eighth in his most recent outing, the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park on March 4. Blazing Sevens, who will be ridden by Irad Ortiz from the No. 8 post, won last year’s Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Aqueduct then finished fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland.

Another top contender figures to be Classic Car Wash, who was in command of the Tampa Bay Derby before being run down in the stretch by Tapit Trice and finishing second. Classic Car Wash, ridden by Javier Castellano and trained by Mark Casse, is at 12-1 on the morning line.

Lexington-based trainer Kenny McPeek saddles a trio of contenders in Sun Thunder (10-1), Hayes Strike (15-1), and Mendelssohns March (20-1).

McPeek likes what he’s seen of Mendelssohns March, who is undefeated in two starts and will race from post No. 11 in his stakes debut.

“It is a long way around there, so he ought to be fine (coming out of the far outside post),” McPeek said. “I know we are throwing him into the deep end, but he is very talented and seems to be a horse that can handle it.”

The Blue Grass field also includes 30-1 choices Clear the Air (trained by Will Walden) and Major Blue (D. Wayne Lukas).

Saturday

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: 5:15 p.m.

Distance: 1 1/8 miles

TV: NBC

Blue Grass Stakes field with odds

Toyota Blue Grass Stakes post positions and odds:

1-Tapit Trice (5-2)

2-Clear the Air (30-1)

3-Verifying (3-1)

4-Classic Car Wash (12-1)

5-Hayes Strike (15-1)

6-Scoobie Quando (15-1)

7-Sun Thunder (10-1)

8-Blazing Sevens (6-1)

9-Major Blue (30-1)

10-Raise Cain (9-2)

11-Mendelssohns March (20-1)