The 150th Kentucky Derby (G1) is Saturday, May 4, at Churchill Downs, offering a record $5 million purse. The field is limited to 20 starters based on Derby qualifying points from dozens of prep races. Epic Ride replaces Encino, who was scratched.
First on the also-eligible list for the Derby, Epic Ride was added to the field on Tuesday (April 29), when Encino was scratched with a soft-tissue strain in his right front leg.
Epic Ride won a pair of races on Turfway Park’s synthetic track and ran second to Encino in the John Battaglia Memorial before finishing a credible third in the Blue Grass Stakes behind Sierra Leone and Just a Touch.
Does that make him a viable contender as one of the longest shots in the field? Not really, but at least there’s a chance (think Rich Strike in 2022).
“It’s fantastic. It's a huge achievement for a smaller barn like us to get in, just privileged to be a part of it,” Ennis told drf.com.
Ennis believes Epic Ride fits the 1 ¼-mile Derby distance well, and the field has speed “where we have enough tactical speed to be wherever we want.
Ennis, in his 12th year as a trainer, is looking for his first graded stakes win with his first Derby starter. Jockey Adam Beschizza will compete in his second Derby.
Betting advice: Don’t see a Rich Strike in this guy, but didn’t see Rich Strike in 2022, either. Nonetheless, toss.
Post position: 20
Odds: 50/1
Jockey: Adam Beschizza
Trainer: John Ennis
Owner: Welch Racing
Career record: 5-2-2-1
Career earnings: $253,166
Most recent race: Blue Grass, April 6, (3rd)
Top Equibase speed figure: 100
Pedigree: Blame-Pick a Time, by Gio Ponti
Color: Bay
Running Style: Tactical speed
Notes: When Encino was scratched, Epic Ride moved into the field as the first also-eligible ... First four races at Turfway Park, two wins, two seconds ... Beaten a length by Encino in the John Battaglia Memorial on March 2 ... Sold for $160,000 at the Keeneland September 2022 sale
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
