TODD Pletcher’s Tapit Trice is the 5/2 morning line choice in a field of 11 three-year-olds for the Grade 1 $1 million Toyota Blue Grass over the nine furlongs at Keeneland. The Toyota Blue Grass offers points toward this year’s Derby on a 100-40-30-20-10 scale.

Tapit Trice and Luis Saez bring a three-race winning streak highlighted by a two-length victory as odds-on favourite in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby. Todd Pletcher was not overly pleased with his stall one draw, however.

The second choice on the morning line is Westerberg Limited, Mrs. John Magnier, Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor’s Verifying.

Trained by Brad Cox, Verifying has won two of five starts and finished second to Blazing Sevens in the Grade 1 Champagne last year. On his most recent start, Verifying was fourth in the Grade 2 Rebel over a sloppy track at Oaklawn Park.

Tyler Gaffalione has the mount on Verifying from stall three.

Grade 3 Gotham winner Raise Cain is the third choice. Trained by Ben Colebrook, Raise Cain won the Gotham by seven and a half lengths on his graded stakes debut. Colebrook also runs outsider Scoobie Quando.

Trained by Chad Brown, Blazing Sevens is the only Grade 1 winner and won the Grade 1 Champagne last year and completed his 2022 campaign with a fourth-place finish to Forte in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Blazing Sevens finished eighth in the Fountain of Youth in his only 2023 start. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount out of stall eight.

Kenny McPeek sends out three runners, Sun Thunder comes off a fifth-place finish in the Twinspires Louisiana Derby and second in the Risen Star.

McPeek will also run graded-stakes placed Hayes Strike and Mendelssohns March who will be making his stakes race debut. Unbeaten in two starts, Mendelssohns March has been given an entry in the Derby at Epsom.

Mark Casse’s Classic Car Wash was runner-up to Tapit Trice in the Tampa Bay Derby and third in the Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs.

Madison Stakes

Goodnight Olive headlines a field of five fillies and mares entered for the Grade 1 $600,000 Madison Stakes over seven furlongs on dirt.

Trained by Chad Brown, Goodnight Olive capped off an Eclipse Award-winning season when she won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint to clinch honours as the champion female sprinter.

A winner of her last six starts, Goodnight Olive has Irad Ortiz Jr. on board again and breaks from stall two.

Shug McGaughey’s Maryquitecontrary has won her past five starts with the most recent coming in the Grade 2 Inside Information at Gulfstream Park.

Aqueduct

The second big Derby trial of the evening is the Grade 2 Wood Memorial with a wide-open field of 13 at Aqueduct.

It’s trainers Cox and Pletcher heading the field again and their two contenders are drawn wide apart in stalls 1 and 13. Dreamlike, a Gun Runner colt, has just two seconds on his only two outings while Hit Show for Pletcher won his last two including an easy win in the Grade 3 Withers here. Brad Cox also runs the Arrogate colt Slip Mahoney, second in the Grade 3 Gotham.

White Abarrio and Repo Rocks head the market for the Grade 1 seven-furlong Carter Handicap.

The Jamie Ness-trained gelding Repo Rocks is on a four-race winning streak, the last two here and should pick up his first Grade 1.

Santa Anita

The Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby has added intrigue as Mandarin Hero has travelled halfway around the world to become the first horse from Japan to compete in it.

Tim Yakteen holds the strongest hand with his Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes and Los Alamitos Futurity winner Practical Move and he now also trains National Treasure, a multiple graded stakes-placed runner previously trained by Bob Baffert.

National Treasure is consistent at the top level and ran second in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes, third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and third in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes.

Richard Mandella’s Geaux Rocket Ride was over two lengths behind Practical Move in the San Felipe and looks bound for the placings again.