The winner, DERBY KITTEN came from last place on the far turn to pay $ 20 for each $ 2 bet, to continue a three year trend of longshots that have dominated Keeneland Graded stakes. Nevertheless, the $ 120,000 Derby Kitten earned for his second victory in his ninth career start, will fall way short of putting the turf bred son of Kitten’s Joy in the top 20 Graded earnings list.

In a year that has seen many of the top rated Derby prospects fall by the wayside due to injury or illness and others fail to deliver good performances in prep races when they were heavily favored, the trend continued on Saturday.

JAYCITO, A Grade-1 stakes winner as a 2 year old in 2010, who has battled hoof problems since finishing a respectable second to PREMIER PEGASUS  in the San Felipe, Mar 12, has been declared out of the Derby by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Thus, he and Premier Pegasus join  TO HONOR AND SERVE and BRETHREN on the sidelines, while highly ranked UNCLE MO, THE FACTOR, SWAY AWAY, STAY THIRSTY, SANTIVA and SOLDAT will go into the Kentucky Derby—if they make the final field– off their worst performances of the year. Even the ultra consistent MUCH MACHO MAN falls into this category given that he could only manage a third place finish when favored in the Louisiana Derby. A few in this group might not even race in the Derby pending defections from the top 20 Graded-earnings-list and/or their training between now and the First Saturday in May.

Specifically, The Factor’s status remains in doubt after his disappointing seventh in the Arkansas Derby and Uncle Mo  has been treated with antibiotics for an intestinal tract infection that has been blamed for the colt’s relatively weak third place finish in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, Apr. 9.

Moreover, Sway Away is far outside the top 20 and probably will not make the field.

So where are we with the Derby field?

Well here is the official Graded Stakes earnings list that will determine the 20 horses eligible to draw post positions on Wednesday, May 4. The horses marked by (XX) after their names are considered unlikely to run due to trainer’s decisions and those marked by an asterisk will have their status determined by defections and/or the smoothness of their Churchill Downs workouts and general physical demeanor. At this late stage of the Derby game, any setback would be cause to eliminate a Derby horse whether their connections decide to run or not.

Graded Earnings Rank. . .Trainer. . . . .Graded Earnings.

1. Uncle Mo* . . . . . . . . .Todd Pletcher. . . .  . 1,360,000
2. 2 Dialed In. . . .  . . . . . . .Nicholas Zito. . . .  . ..$ 840,000
3. Archarcharch  .. . . .  William Fires. . . . . . . .$ 780,000
4. Comma to the Top. .Peter Miller. . . . . . .   .$ 671,000
5. Toby’s Corner. . . . . H. Graham Motion.  . $ 625,000
6. Pants On Fire. . . . . . Kelly Breen. . . . . . . . .$ 623,000
7. Midnight Interlude. . Bob Baffert. . . . . . .  . $ 600,000
8. J P’s Gusto*. . . . . . . .Joseph Petalino. .  .. $ 544,000
9. Soldat. . . . . . . . . . . .  .Kiaran McLaughlin. .$ 540,000
10. Brilliant Speed. . . ..Thomas Albertrani.  .$ 450,000
11. Master of Hounds. .Aidan O’Brien. . . . .  $ 441,884
12. Nehro. . . . . . . . . . . ..Steven Asmussen. . $ 400,000
13. Twice the Appeal. .Jeff Bonde. . . . . . . .  .$ 400,000
14. Mucho Macho Man.Katherine Ritvo. . .  .$ 370,000
15. Decisive Moment. . Juan Arias. . . . . . . . .$ 301,000
16. Animal Kingdom* . .H. Graham Motion.. $ 285,000
17. The Factor*. . . . . . . Bob Baffert. . . . . . .  .$ 272,500
18. Stay Thirsty. . . . . . Todd Pletcher. . . . .  .$ 260,000
19. Jaycito (XX). . . . . .  Bob Baffert. . . . . . .  .$ 250,000
20. Santiva. . . . . . . . . .. Eddie Kenneally. .   .$ 242,397
21. Watch Me Go. . . . . Kathleen O’Connell $ 235,500
22. Shackleford. . . . . . Dale Romans. . . . . . .$ 212,000
23. Twinspired. . . . . .  Michael Maker. . . . . . $ 197,500
24. Silver Medallion (XX) S. Asmussen. . . . $ 194,334
25. Anthony’s Cross.  Eoin Harty. . . . . . . . . $ 182,000
26. Blue Laser (XX). .   .Mark Casse. . . . . . . . $ 143,502
27. Flashpoint (XX). . .  Richard Dutrow, Jr….$ 140,000
28. Derby Kitten* . . . . . Michael Maker. . . . . .$ 200,000
29. Mr. Commons*. . . . John Shirreffs. . . . . $ 120,000
30. Sway Away (XX). .  Jeff Bonde. . . . . . . . $ 111,500
31. Norman Asbjornson (XX) ChrisGrove . . . .$ 100,000
32. Dance City (XX). . .  Todd Pletcher. . . . $ 100,000
33. Lou Brissie (XX). .  . Neil Howard. . . . . . .$ 99,043
34. Ruler On Ice (XX). . .Kelly Breen. . . . . . . .$ 96,000
35. Wilkinson (XX). . . . . Neil Howard. . . . . . . $ 72,143
36. Nacho Saint. . . . . . . Kelly Breen. . . . . . .  $ 70,500

For up to date workout reports for all Derby contenders, please check Steve Davidowitz’ website, www.GradeOneRacing.com and for all your online horse betting, visit the Bodog Racebook.

Bodog Beat

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