road to the kentucky derby | Horse Racing Free Tips

NBC Sports To Provide Exclusive Coverage Of Saturday’s Louisiana Derby

With the Kentucky Derby less than 50 days away, NBCSN presents exclusive live coverage of the $1 million Louisiana Derby this Saturday, March 20 at 6 p.m. ET from Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Louisiana Derby kicks off NBC Sports' “Road to the Kentucky Derby” coverage on four consecutive Saturday afternoons on NBCSN. NBC Sports will present the 147th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 1 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Exactly six weeks ahead of the May 1 running of the Kentucky Derby, the grade 2 Louisiana Derby marks the first prep race awarding Kentucky Derby qualifying points on a 100-40-20-10 scale for the top four finishers. John Velazquez, who rode 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic, rides Proxy (7-2) in the eight-horse field.

Britney Eurton hosts Saturday's coverage, alongside analysts Jerry Bailey, the Hall of Fame jockey who has twice won the Louisiana Derby, and Randy Moss.

Saturday's coverage will include an interview with trainer Bob Baffert from his barn at Santa Anita as he prepares several top contenders for the Kentucky Derby. With a win in this year's Derby, Baffert would earn his seventh career Kentucky Derby victory, breaking a tie with Ben Jones for the most ever by a trainer.

NBCSN will also present the Fair Grounds Oaks on Saturday, one of the major prep races on the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks.”

Coverage will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app – NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs.

Following is NBC Sports' upcoming “Road to the Kentucky Derby” prep race schedule on NBCSN:

Race	Date	Time (ET)
Louisiana Derby	Sat., March 20	6 p.m.
Florida Derby	Sat., March 27	6 p.m.
Wood Memorial, Bluegrass Stakes, Santa Anita Derby	Sat., April 3	5:30 p.m.
Arkansas Derby	Sat., April 10	7 p.m.

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Keepmeinmind Will Try To Rebound In Arkansas Derby

Trainer Robertino Diodoro said Thursday morning that he's leaning toward starting Keepmeinmind in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 10 at Oaklawn.

Diodoro said Keepmeinmind is also under consideration for the $800,000 Blue Grass Stakes (G2) April 3 at Keeneland, but it appears his final Kentucky Derby push will be made at Oaklawn, where the late-running son of Laoban has been based since late December.

“It could change, but right now I'm pointing towards the Arkansas Derby,” Diodoro said. “Just being here, not having to ship.”

Keepmeinmind made his delayed 3-year-old debut in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) last Saturday at Oaklawn and finished sixth, beaten eight lengths, by Concert Tour. Diodoro said Keepmeinmind returned to the track Thursday morning for the first time since the Rebel, which was Oaklawn's third of four Kentucky Derby points races and its final major prep for the Arkansas Derby.

“The Blue Grass is an option, but right now I'm pointing him to that,” Diodoro said.

The Rebel marked the first start for Keepmeinmind since his last-to-first maiden victory in the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs. Prior to the Kentucky Jockey Club, Keepmeinmind finished second in the $400,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) Oct. 3 at Keeneland and third in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 6 at Keeneland.

Keepmeinmind was to have made his 3-year-old debut in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) Feb. 15 at Oaklawn before the race was postponed 12 days because of severe winter weather. Diodoro then opted to launch Keepmeinmind 2021 campaign in the Rebel.

Unbeaten Essential Quality, who won the Breeders' Futurity and Breeders' Cup Juvenile en route to an Eclipse Award as the country's champion 2-year-old male, captured the Southwest in his 3-year-old debut. Essential Quality is pointing to the Blue Grass, trainer Brad Cox said.

Keepmeinmind has 18 points to rank No. 14 on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, according to Churchill Downs.

Diodoro-trained Dreamer's Disease, who ran sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, moved closer to his 3-year-old debut by working a half-mile in :51 over a fast track Thursday morning at Oaklawn. Diodoro, Oaklawn's leading trainer last year, said he would like to start Dreamer's Disease before the meeting ends May 1.

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TVG’s Weekend Broadcast Features Live Coverage Of Louisiana Derby Day

Mandaloun, the winner of the Risen Star Stakes (G2) in February, will continue his road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) and face seven rivals in Saturday's $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) from Fair Grounds. TVG will be broadcasting live from Louisiana with expanded coverage of the supersized fourteen-race card which features seven stakes races.

TVG's Mike Joyce, Joaquin Jaime and Scott Hazelton will be reporting live from Fair Grounds with exclusive interviews, selections and expert handicapping analysis. The Louisiana Derby is one of four graded stakes races on the card and is a top-tier Kentucky Derby prep race with 100-40-20-10 qualifying points to the top four finishers. The race will feature a rematch of the top three finishers from both the Risen Star Stakes (G2) and the Lecomte Stakes (G3) – Mandaloun for trainer Brad Cox, Proxy for Michael Stidham and the Steve Asmussen-trained Midnight Bourbon.

Saturday's card at Fair Grounds will also feature a prep race for the Kentucky Oaks (G1) – the $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2). The race has drawn a field of eight sophomore fillies including Clairiere, a homebred daughter of Curlin for Stonestreet Stables. Trained by Steve Asmussen, she was triumphant in her 3-year-old debut in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) and will have Joe Talamo aboard.

Todd Schrupp, Christina Blacker and Caleb Keller will be live at Santa Anita on Saturday and Simon Bray will be contributing to the from the studio. The featured race on the nine-race card is the $100,000 San Luis Rey Stakes (G3) which will feature the return to action for LNJ Foxwood's multiple graded stakes winner United. Trained by Richard Mandella, Flavien Prat will be aboard as the 6-year-old gelded son of Giant's Causeway tries to notch his eighth career victory.

The stakes action will continue at Gulfstream Park on Saturday and TVG's Gabby Gaudet will be reporting live from the track with insights and interviews throughout the twelve-race card which features the $100,000 Hurricane Bertie Stakes (G3), a sprint for fillies and mares. The race has attracted a contentious field of eight including Slam Dunk, a four-year-old daughter of Into Mischief stepping up to stakes company after an allowance win for Shug McGaughey in February.

In addition to racing from Fair Grounds, Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park, TVG will feature racing from Oaklawn Park, Aqueduct and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

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Walsh: No Decision Yet On Next Start For Unbeaten Prevalence

A decision on Prevalence's next start on the Triple Crown Trail has yet to be made by the connections of Godolphin LLC's homebred colt, who was an impressive winner of his first two career starts at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Based at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, Prevalence is among 25 sophomores nominated to the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa Saturday, March 27. To be run for the 70^th time at Gulfstream, the Florida Derby has produced the winners of 60 Triple Crown races in its history.

The Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct and Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park, both scheduled for April 3, are also under consideration. All three races carry 170 Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points on a 100-40-20-10 basis.

Trainer Brendan Walsh, who was traveling back to South Florida Wednesday from New Orleans, said he was unsure where the horse would run next.

“No idea yet,” he said. “We'll see how he's doing the next few days and go from there.”

Prevalence, a son of multiple Grade 1 winner Medaglia d'Oro and grandson of Hall of Famer Ghostzapper, was an eye-catching 8 ½-length maiden special weight winner in debut Jan. 23 on the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) undercard. A fever cost him a chance to run in the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 27, but he returned with a professional three-length optional claiming allowance triumph at Gulfstream March 11.

“He came out of the last race good and he's back training away and doing well,” Walsh said. “We'll see how he goes this week and then we'll have a better idea.”

Among the probable Florida Derby starters are Courtlandt Farms' Greatest Honour, impressive winner of the Fountain of Youth and Holy Bull (G3) trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey; St. Elias Stable's Known Agenda, a smashing optional claiming allowance winner who is trained by Todd Pletcher, who has saddled a record five Florida Derby winners; Michael Shanley's Nova Rags, the Sam F. Davis (G3) runner-up; Three Chimney's Farm and e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Collaborate, a 12 ½-length maiden winner under wraps Feb. 27 at Gulfstream in his second career start; Magic Stables LLC's Papetu, second in the Mucho Macho Man and third in the Fountain of Youth; and Live Oak Plantation's Soup and Sandwich, undefeated in two starts for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse.

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