The long-and-winding route that leads to Louisville on May 4 for the 150th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve has only one stop left before the first jewel of the 2024 Triple Crown. Saturday’s $400,000 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes at Keeneland is the last qualifying points race for this year’s Kentucky Derby, offering 42 points total on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale to the top five finishers.
For most of the field, the 20 points to the winner would not be sufficient to earn a starting spot in the Kentucky Derby. However, #5 Hades would punch his ticket to Louisville with a win and a victory could elevate #8 Encino, #9 Liberal Arts, or #10 Lucky Jeremy to the fringe of the top 20 where a defection or two from the current list of possible Derby starters could result in a starting spot for the taking.
Given the gravity of the race for those four runners, I expect them to be fully cranked up for the Lexington. For that reason, I…
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