Is there anything more entertaining than the mad scramble for those precious points required for admission to the field for the Kentucky Derby (G1)? Ever since Rich Strike made the race in 2022 by the skin of his fourth-place finish worth a single point in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, owners and trainers have obsessed over any drop in the eligibility bucket.
The top finishers in the big three races of April 6 at Keeneland, Santa Anita Park, and Aqueduct Racetrack will hoover up most of the remaining Derby points. But credit is due to those who have labored so far.
For instance, through the most recent round of prep races, Common Defense was sitting 17th in the Derby standings with 37 points. Most of that total was earned by his stout second in the Rebel Stakes (G2) to Timberlake —now excused from the Derby clamor—but if those 37 points hold up well enough to barely make the field, the people in the Common…
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