Welcome to 2023 Kentucky Derby Prospect Snapshots, where we’ll take a look each week at a recent winner on the Triple Crown trail, usually from the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule from which the racehorses earn points toward qualifying. The 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve will be held May 6, 2023, at Churchill Downs.
Champion juvenile colt Forte secured his place atop Week Six of the NTRA's Top 3-Year-Old Poll with a dominant 4 1/2-length win in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes. The Todd Pletcher-trained son of Violence completed 1 1/16 miles over Gulfstream's fast main track in 1:43.12. Last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, Forte has led every edition of the poll thus far.
In second position remains G3 Southwest winner Arabian Knight (formerly trained by Bob Baffert, recently transferred to former Baffert assistant Tim Yakteen). The son of Uncle Mo is expected to target either the Santa Anita Derby or the Arkansas Derby.
This week's big mover was Practical Move, an impressive winner of the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park. The Tim Yakteen-trained son of Practical Joke had previously won the G2 Los Alamitos Futurity, and was making his first start of the year in the San Felipe.
G3 Lecomte winner Instant Coffee sits in fourth (Brad Cox); G2 Rebel winner Confidence Game is fifth (Keith Desormeaux); G2 Risen Star winner Angel of Empire is sixth (Cox); G3 Holy Bull winner and G2 Fountain of Youth runner-up Rocket Can is seventh (Bill Mott), unraced in 2023, Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Cave Rock is eighth (Baffert); G3 Withers winner Hit Show is ninth (Cox); and impressive allowance winner Tapit Trice is tenth (Pletcher).
The 3-Year-Old poll represents horses competing up and through the Triple Crown.
The biggest change in Week Six of the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll was the position of Stilleto Boy, whose 14-1 victory in the Big 'Cap for trainer Ed Moger, Jr. boosted him from 24th to fourth in the poll.
Pegasus World Cup winner Art Collector remains atop the bunch. The Bill Mott trainee kicked off his 6-year-old season with the biggest win of his career, drawing away to win the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup by 4 1/2 lengths. Art Collector, sired by Bernardini, now owns 11 wins from 21 starts with earnings over $4 million.
Bob Baffert trainee Country Grammer, who came up just short of a victory in the $20 million Saudi Cup for a second year in a row, retained second position. Elite Power, Breeders' Cup winner and Champion Sprinter, also proved a powerful force in Saudi Arabia when he captured the Riyadh Dirt Sprint under Frankie Dettori. As a result, the Mott trainee was voted into third in this week's poll. Another Mott-trained stablemate, Cody's Wish, remains in fifth with his most recent start a win in last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
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The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced Tuesday that it will begin using “can't-race” flags to enforce its existing Racetrack Safety and Registration regulations beginning on March 27, 2023. Covered Persons and Horses who are not in compliance with HISA's Racetrack Safety and Registration rules, which went into effect on July 1, 2022, will be at risk of being unable to race until they comply with the rules.
In order to be in full compliance with the Racetrack Safety and Registration rules:
In addition to HISA's use of can't-race flags beginning on March 27, HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program is also expected to launch that day pending final approval of the ADMC rules by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This will mean that all of HISA's ADMC, Racetrack Safety and Registration regulations are expected to be in full effect as of March 27, 2023.
“March 27, 2023 will truly be the start of a new era in Thoroughbred racing,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “An added level of enforcement of our Racetrack Safety and Registration rules, coupled with the launch of our ADMC Program, will be a clear sign to all that the racing industry is taking equine wellbeing and rider safety incredibly seriously. I am grateful for the high level of engagement and compliance we've seen with our Racetrack Safety and Registration rules since they went into effect on July 1, 2022, and I hope that the use of can't-race flags serves as one more mechanism to ensure uniformity and compliance across the country as we continue our implementation process.”
To help racing participants navigate the Racetrack Safety and Registration requirements, HISA has produced a series of how-to visual guides and videos, available at the links below:
Racing participants can also call the HISA Help Desk for assistance at 1-877-513-2919 at any time.
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