By Jarrod Horak
The Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 13 was the final Kentucky Derby 2024 points race. In this article, I will look back at that event and update my “Exceptional 11” Kentucky Derby contenders.
In other Derby news, No More Time was injured during a pre-Derby workout on April 14. He is scheduled to have surgery and is off the Triple Crown trail. They hope that he will be back later this year or sometime next year.
T O Password is expected to arrive from Japan on April 26. This colt won both starts in Japan this year including the Fukuryu Stakes on March 23. He will be ridden by Kazushi Kimura.
Kentucky Derby 2024 Points Race Recaps
Lexington Stakes – April 13 (Keeneland)
Fractions: 23.55, 47.28, 1:11.94, 1:37.22, 1:43.93
Top 5 Finishers: Encino, The Wine Steward, Dilger (IRE), Secret Chat, Footprint
Encino passed this dirt test with flying colors. Brad Cox’s surface switcher went straight to the lead under Florent Geroux. He maintained a length advantage though a half mile or so. How’s Ur Attitude pressed and faded, and post time favorite The Wine Steward took up the chase. Encino kept the latter at bay and won by 3/4ths of a length. The Wine Steward was clearly second best and ended up 8 1/4 lengths in front of show finisher Dilger (IRE). Encino has enough points to run in the Kentucky Derby. The other option is to wait for the Preakness Stakes, which would give him five weeks between starts instead of three. The Wine Steward was making his first start since landing the place in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) more than six months ago. I am not sure what is next for Michael Maker’s New York-bred son of Vino Rosso, but the timing of the Preakness makes sense.