And they’re off on the Road to the 2025 Kentucky Derby (G1).
Churchill Downs, home of America’s iconic horse race, hosts the first Derby points qualifier on Saturday, the $300,000 Iroquois Stakes (G3).
A field of 12 2-year-olds is entered for the 1-mile Iroquois, which awards points on a sliding scale of 10-5-3-2-1 to the first five finishers.
Owen Almighty. Coady Photo.
Owen Almighty, Politically correct top 12-horse field
A top contender should be Owen Almighty, 2-for-2 with a career debut victory at Churchill Downs in June, followed by a convincing win in the Ellis Park Juvenile last month.
The son of Speightstown is trained by Brian Lynch and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. out of post 5. For those who bet horse racing online, he’s the 5-2 morning-line favorite.
Politicallycorrect, a son of Violence, won his first two starts, both at Churchill Downs, and finished second by 4 ¾ lengths to Owen Almighty in the Ellis Park Juvenile.
Trained by Chris Davis, Politicallycorrect is the 6-1 third choice and will be ridden by Florent Geroux leaving from post 12.
Jonathan’s Way, an Ohio bred trained by Phil Bauer, is the 9-2 second choice off a 4 1/4-length win at a mile at Saratoga on Aug. 17 in his career debut.
Iroquois Stakes and Key Kentucky Oaks Qualifiers Dominate Opening Weekend Lineup
A year ago, Seize the Grey ran fourth in the Iroquois for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, and six races later won the 2024 Preakness (G1), the second leg of the Triple Crown after winning the Pat Day Mile (G2) two weeks earlier on Derby Day.
The Iroquois is the feature on an 11-race opening weekend card with four other stakes — the $300,000 Pocahontas (G3), a points qualifier for the Kentucky Oaks (G1) on May 2, the $400,000 Locust Grove (G2), the $300,000 Open Mind, and the $300,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society.
Post time for the Iroquois is 5:29 p.m. ET.
For those who bet horse racing, the picks …
1 Jonathan’s Way 2 Owen Almighty 3 Magnitude
The field for the $300,000 Iroquois Stakes (G3), from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, odds:
1 First Resort (Rafael Bejarano, Eoin Harty), 12-1
2 Giocoso (James Graham, Keith Desormeaux), 10-1
3 Jack’s Time (Brian Hernandez, Jr., Kelly Von Hemmel), 20-1
4 Authentic Strike (Luis Saez, Rodolphe Brisset), 12-1
5 Owen Almighty (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Brian Lynch), 5-2
6 Strummin (Cristian Torres, John Hancock), 12-1
7 Sandman (Jose Ortiz, Mark Casse), 6-1
8 Magnitude (Tyler Gaffalione, Steve Asmussen), 8-1
9 Firmus (Ricardo Santana, Jr., Wayne Catalano), 20-1
10 Jonathan’s Way (Joel Rosario, Phil Bauer), 9-2
11 Mesero (Corie Lanerie, Dale Romans), 15-1
12 Politicallycorrect (Florent Geroux, Chris Davis), 6-1