Kentucky Derby Watch 2023: Meet the horses now in field after dramatic prep race wins

Only one qualifying race remains before the 2023 Kentucky Derby, which will be run Saturday, May 6, at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

But the outlook for the 20-horse Derby field became a whole lot clearer after Saturday, which featured a trio of qualifying races that all awarded points on a 100-40-30-20-10 scale to the top-five finishers.

The Wood Memorial (Aqueduct), Blue Grass Stakes (Keeneland) and Santa Anita Derby (Santa Anita) all featured dramatic finishes as well, with each race coming down to a close finish to determine would would secure their spot in the Run for the Roses.

In two of the races, a favorite prevailed. In the other, a massive upset occurred.

Here’s what you need to know about the three victorious horses from Saturday: Lord Miles in the Wood Memorial, Practical Move in the Santa Anita and Tapit Trice in the Blue Grass, and what their résumés look like ahead of likely appearances in next month’s Kentucky Derby.

The final qualifying points race for the Kentucky Derby is the Lexington Stakes, which will be run Saturday at Keeneland. It will award Derby qualifying points on a 20-8-6-4-2 scale.

Lord Miles

Caesars odds: 40-1.

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 105 (sixth on Derby leaderboard).

Performance: Let’s start with the biggest shock of Saturday’s races.

The Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct was won by 59-1 shot Lord Miles, who emerged victorious in a three-horse battle to the finish line. Lord Miles also survived a postrace inquiry to win by a nose over 8-5 race favorite Hit Show.

To call Lord Miles’ win a surprise would be an understatement: The horse had just one win in four prior races in his career, all of which came in Florida.

“You dream and sometimes it doesn’t happen,” Lord Miles trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said postrace. “We dreamed about getting this horse in the Kentucky Derby and it didn’t look good for a while, but now our dreams have become reality.”

None of the runners in the 12-horse field for the Wood Memorial ranked within the qualifying points cutoff for the Kentucky Derby prior to the race, but for Lord Miles to emerge as the day’s biggest winner was a true shock.

Hit Show, the race favorite that was narrowly beaten by Lord Miles, is now also projected to be in the Kentucky Derby field with 60 qualifying points, which ranks 11th on the leaderboard.

Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.

Owner: Vegso Racing Stable.

Family ties: Sired by Curlin, the legendary horse who won 11 of 16 career starts, including the Rebel Stakes, Arkansas Derby, Preakness Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2007.

Practical Move

Caesars odds: 8-1.

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 160 (second on leaderboard).

Performance: Originally bred by trainer Chad Brown but now in the barn of Tim Yakteen, Practical Move vaulted up the Derby points leaderboard with a dramatic win in the Santa Anita Derby.

Practical Move took the race at the line just ahead of the Japan-bred Mandarin Hero, the first Japan-owned horse to hit the board in the Santa Anita Derby.

After going off at 8-5 odds, Practical Move kept his perfect money performance intact with the win: The horse has now finished in the money in all seven career starts.

Practical Move is 2-for-2 in 2023, with wins in the Santa Anita Derby and in early March in the San Felipe Stakes at the same track.

Yakteen will head to the Derby with the Santa Anita winner for the second straight time: Last year it was Taiba, a horse that was transferred to Yakteen from Bob Baffert’s barn.

“He’s still an improving horse and he showed another dimension where he really dug deep and fought off the other horse,” Yakteen said Saturday of Practical Move.

The first Grade 1 win for Practical Move in the Santa Anita Derby also means a return trip to the Kentucky Derby for jockey Ramon Vazquez, who has been aboard the horse for his last three races.

Vazquez finished 13th in the 2015 Kentucky Derby with Mr. Z.

Trainer: Tim Yakteen.

Owner: Leslie and Pierre Amestoy, Roger Beasley.

Family ties: Sired by Practical Joke, who ran fifth in the 2017 Kentucky Derby and second in the 2017 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.

Tapit Trice

Caesars odds: 6-1.

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 150 (fourth on leaderboard).

Performance: Tapit Trice entered Saturday’s 99th Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland as the morning-line favorite and delivered.

He outdueled Verifying down the stretch and survived a postrace objection to win by a head in a photo finish and cement himself as one of the favorites for next month’s Derby.

Tapit Trice now has four wins in five career starts, and is a perfect 3-for-3 in 2023.

Saturday’s Grade 1 win in the Blue Grass is paired along with a come-from-behind triumph in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby last month for the gray colt.

But while it took a late charge to win in Florida, Saturday’s performance at Keeneland was more indicative of a true Kentucky Derby contender.

Tapit Trice had the inside post in the Blue Grass and began making his eventual winning move on the backstretch.

“He fought with a nice horse and kept going to the wire, and that’s what we were hoping to see,” trainer Todd Pletcher said after the Blue Grass win.

Jockey Luis Saez has been aboard Tapit Trice for his last three wins.

With Tapit Trice securing his status as a Derby heavyweight, it’s shaping up to be a banner year for Pletcher in terms of Derby participants.

Pletcher — who won the Derby in 2010 (Super Saver) and 2017 (Always Dreaming) — also trains Forte, the presumptive Kentucky Derby favorite, as well as Louisiana Derby winner Kingsbarns.

Tapit Trice will head to Churchill Downs on Sunday in preparation for the Derby. Pletcher’s other two likely Derby horses — Forte and Kingsbarns — will arrive at Churchill the following day.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher.

Owner: Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable.

Family ties: Sired by Tapit, who finished ninth in the 2004 Kentucky Derby.

Kentucky Derby leaderboard

Listed with points earned and trainer:

1. Forte, 190 (Todd Pletcher).

2. Practical Move, 160 (Tim Yakteen).

3. Angel of Empire, 154 (Brad Cox).

4. Tapit Trice, 150 (Todd Pletcher).

5. Two Phil’s, 123 (Larry Rivelli).

6. Lord Miles 105, (Saffie Joseph Jr.).

7. Derma Sotogake, 100 (Hidetaka Otonashi).

8. Kingsbarns, 100 (Todd Pletcher).

9. Raise Cain, 64 (Ben Colebrook).

10. Rocket Can, 60 (Bill Mott).

11. Hit Show, 60 (Brad Cox).

12. Confidence Game, 57 (Keith Desormeaux).

13. Verifying, 54 (Brad Cox).

14. Sun Thunder, 54 (Kenny McPeek).

15. Wild On Ice, 50 (Joel Marr).

16. Mage, 50 (Gustavo Delgado).

17. Blazing Sevens, 46 (Chad Brown).

18. Reincarnate, 45 (Tim Yakteen).

19. Jace’s Road, 45 (Brad Cox).

20. Continuar, Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby invite (Yoshito Yahagi).

21. Skinner, 45 (John Shirreffs).

22. Cyclone Mischief, 45 (Dale Romans).

23. Major Dude, 40 (Todd Pletcher).

24. Mandarin Hero, 40 (Terunobu Fujita).

25. King Russell, 40 (Ron Moquett).

Notes: UAE Derby third-place finisher Continuar has been extended an invitation to compete in the Kentucky Derby for accruing 40 points in the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby series. It appears unlikely that Brave Emperor will accept the European Road to the Kentucky Derby invitation.

Todd Pletcher owns a stacked Kentucky Derby deck, but watch out for the Japanese

Tapit Trice outduels Verifying to win the Blue Grass Stakes, clinch Kentucky Derby spot

Three takeaways from Saturday’s Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland

Blue Grass Stakes undercard: Goodnight Olive earns another Grade 1 win at Keeneland