The final three major Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve prep races worth 100 qualifying points each to the winner are on tap for Saturday in New York, Kentucky, and California, so by this time next week the field for the 150^th run for the roses will be just about finalized.

The $750,000, Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby has historically been an influential prep race for the Triple Crown and a heck of an addition to the résumé of any Thoroughbred racehorse.

Twenty 3-year-olds have competed in the Santa Anita Derby and gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, including 11 racehorses talented enough to win them both: Hill Gail (1952), Determine (1954), Swaps (1955), Lucky Debonair (1965), Majestic Prince (1969), Affirmed (1978), the filly Winning Colors (1988), Sunday Silence (1989), I’ll Have Another (2012), California Chrome (2014), and Justify (2018).

This year’s race drew a field of eight with no clear standout in the absence of injured rising star Nysos, which should lead to a compelling betting race and could propel one or more runners on to the first jewel of the Triple Crown May 4 at Churchill Downs.

Get up to $175 in bonus cash when you sign up and bet the Santa Anita Derby with 1/ST BET, the Official App of Santa Anita and the 1/ST Racing Tour. Download the 1/ST BET app and sign up with Promo Code ABR150 to receive a 100% Deposit Match on your first deposit, up to $150, plus an additional $25 Bonus if you deposit within 30 minutes of signing up. That way, once you get to know the Santa Anita Derby contenders in this handy Cheat Sheet, you can bet the race with confidence on 1/ST BET on Saturday, April 6.

The Santa Anita Derby has a post time of 7:45 p.m. ET and will be televised on FanDuel TV and CNBC and streamed live on Peacock. 

The Santa Anita Derby is the final leg of the Coast to Coast Pick 5 for Saturday, April 6. The sequence features Santa Anita Park, Race 3; Gulfstream Park, Race 8; Santa Anita Park, Race 7; Santa Anita Park, Race 9; and Santa Anita Park, Race 10. As its name implies, the Coast to Coast Pick 5 will be a pick 5 bet that will encompass a five-race sequence of pre-selected races from two of the top tracks running at this time of year – Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park. The bet will have a $1 minimum denomination and will have a player friendly 15% takeout. 

Read on for more information on the eight 3-year-olds entered in the 2024 Santa Anita Derby.

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1. Curlin’s Kaos (20-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: Diego Herrera

Trainer: Antonio Garcia

Owners: Zephyr Racing and Alfred Pais

Career record: 5 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $82,520

Earnings per start: $16,504

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 91

Kentucky Derby points: 4

Pedigree: Clubhouse Ride – It’s Vengeance, by Curlin

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Curlin’s Kaos has a chance to start the race with the highest odds in the eight-horse field coming out of a fourth-place finish, beaten by 8 ½ lengths by Santa Anita Derby entrant Stronghold, in the Sunland Park Derby Feb. 18. His lone win in four previous starts came on the turf in a one-mile race for California-breds, but until the Sunland Park Derby Curlin’s Kaos had not finished outside the top three, including a pair of placings in dirt sprints. On paper, Curlin’s Kaos seems a cut below the opposition in the Santa Anita Derby. However, one factor that could play in his favor is pace, as there is quite a bit of speed entered in this race. With several of the expected favorites projected to be part of that pace, the Santa Anita Derby could set up ideally for a runner like Curlin’s Kaos who can tuck in behind the speed horses and save his stamina for the stretch run. This Clubhouse Ride gelding could pass a few fading horses late to fill out the superfecta at long odds.

Bet Curlin’s Kaos in the Santa Anita Derby

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2. Tapalo (5-1)

Jockey: Umberto Rispoli

Trainer: John Sadler

Owner: Hronis Racing

Career record: 5 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $62,020

Earnings per start: $12,404

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 99

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Tapiture – Agent Romanoff, by Empire Maker

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: After an unplaced finish in his career debut, Tapalo has finished in the top three in four subsequent starts and he’s been very good in two races in 2024. He earned his first career win Jan. 12 in a seven-furlong maiden-optional claiming race, setting a pressured pace and powering clear to win by 2 ¾ lengths, and then finished second to Endlessly in his stakes debut in the El Camino Real Derby Feb. 10 at Golden Gate Fields. In that race on the all-weather Tapeta Footings surface, Tapalo stalked the pace and opened a clear lead in early stretch, but he could not hold off Endlessly in the final furlong. That effort earned Tapalo a career-top 99 Equibase Speed Figure and was flattered when Endlessly improved to five wins in six starts with a four-length romp in the $700,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks March 23. Although his best race came on an all-weather surface in the El Camino Real Derby, Tapalo has run well on dirt. If the Tapiture colt can continue his pattern of improvement with eight weeks of rest for his third start of the year, he profiles as an interesting Santa Anita Derby contender for trainer John Sadler, who won this race in 2010 with Sidney’s Candy and 2021 with Rock Your World. Tapalo’s owner, Hronis Racing, raced the aforementioned Rock Your World in partnership with Talla Racing, and jockey Umberto Rispoli guided Rock Your World to victory three years ago.

Bet Tapalo in the Santa Anita Derby

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3. Stronghold (5-2)

Jockey: Antonio Fresu

Trainer: Philip D’Amato

Owners: Eric Waller and Sharon Waller

Career record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $377,200

Earnings per start: $75,440

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 92

Kentucky Derby points: 25

Pedigree: Ghostzapper – Spectator, by Jimmy Creed

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Stronghold showed promise as a 2-year-old with a win and three seconds in four races, which included runner-up finishes in the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes behind highly regarded Nysos and in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity. Trainer Phil D’Amato shipped the Ghostzapper colt out of Grade 2 winner Spectator, by Jimmy Creed, to New Mexico for his season debut and he surged clear in the stretch to earn a breakthrough stakes win in the $400,000 Sunland Park Derby. He registered a new career-best 92 Equibase Speed Figure for that win and banked an additional 20 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to bring his total to 25, meaning he probably would secure a spot in the starting gate for the run for the roses with a top-three finish. To do so, Stronghold probably will need to run the fastest race of his career to date as his speed figures are 7-12 points behind several of his opponents and about 15 points slower than the average winning speed figure for this race over the last 10 editions. Stronghold is on an upward trajectory for trainer Phil D’Amato and should be right in the mix approaching the top of the stretch with a good chance to punch his ticket to the Kentucky Derby.

Bet Stronghold in the Santa Anita Derby

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4. Imagination (8-5)

Jockey: Frankie Dettori

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owners: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Robert Masterson, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, and Tom Ryan

Career record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $256,800

Earnings per start: $51,360

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 104

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Magical Feeling, by Empire Maker

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Imagination has improved in each of his three starts this year and figures to vie for favoritism in the Santa Anita Derby coming out of a determined victory by a head over stablemate Wine Me Up in the $300,000 DK Horse San Felipe Stakes March 3 at Santa Anita. One of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s two entrants in the race, Imagination has never been worse than second in five starts and has boosted his best Equibase Speed Figure from 94 to 101 to 104 in his three races in 2024. The bay Into Mischief colt can set the pace or rate just in behind the early speed and has shown tenacity in the stretch with three of his races decided by a neck or less. Imagination was a $1,050,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale as one of four stakes winners produced by Grade 2 winner Magical Feeling, by Empire Maker. He could go a long way toward recouping that seven-figure investment for his ownership group with a win in the Santa Anita Derby as the logical favorite. Baffert is seeking his record-extending 10^th win in the Santa Anita Derby having won previously with Cavonnier (1996), Indian Charlie (1998), General Challenge (1999), Point Given (2001), Pioneerof the Nile (2009), Midnight Interlude (2011), Dortmund (2015), Justify (2018), and Roadster (2019). Co-owners Starlight Racing and Sol Kumin, of Madaket Stables, were part owners of 2018 Santa Anita Derby winner Justify, who swept that year’s Triple Crown. Kumin’s Head of Plains Partners also won the Santa Anita Derby as a co-owner of Exaggerator in 2016.

Bet Imagination in the Santa Anita Derby

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5. Wynstock (8-1)

Jockey: Juan Hernandez

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owner: Edward Allred and Jack Liebau

Career record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $182,740

Earnings per start: $36,548

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 90

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Solomini – Timberlea, by Flatter

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Pacesetter/Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Wynstock will try to bounce back from an 11^th-place finish in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes Feb. 3 at Oaklawn Park, where he was beaten by 28 ¼ lengths. The Solomini colt has a chance to do just that Saturday in the Santa Anita Derby provided the weather forecast holds and he gets a dry track. The two worst starts of Wynstock’s five race career both came on “off” (wet) tracks. In between those two races, he won a one-mile maiden race by 7 ½ lengths and the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity by a half-length over Santa Anita Derby entrant Stronghold. A $700,000 purchase as a 2-year-old at auction, Wynstock will most likely need to improve his best Equibase Speed Figure by 10-15 points to have a viable shot at a victory, but he flashed his potential as a 2-year-old and could take a step forward on a dry track in his second race of the year. Baffert has won the Santa Anita Derby a record nine times with Cavonnier (1996), Indian Charlie (1998), General Challenge (1999), Point Given (2001), Pioneerof the Nile (2009), Midnight Interlude (2011), Dortmund (2015), Justify (2018), and Roadster (2019).

Bet Wynstock in the Santa Anita Derby

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6. Tessuto (10-1)

Jockey: Kazushi Kimura

Trainer: George Papaprodromou

Owner: Kretz Racing

Career record: 3 starts – 1 win – 0 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $54,600

Earnings per start: $18,200

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 92

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Munnings – Cayman Croc, by Bob and John

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Tessuto makes the jump from an impressive maiden win to a Grade 1 race that serves as the marquee Kentucky Derby prep race in Southern California, so he faces a tough assignment in the Santa Anita Derby. He finished third in each of his first two races, both sprints, and improved significantly in his most recent race with a 2 ½-length triumph when stretching out to a mile Feb. 25 at Santa Anita Park. Tessuto boosted his career-best Equibase Speed Figure by eight points to a 92 in the maiden win and probably will need to improve by another 10-15 points to have a shot to visit the winner’s circle Saturday at Santa Anita Park. He should be an appealing price on the toteboard with a chance to outrun his odds and spice up the exacta or trifecta under jockey Kazushi Kimura, who finished second in last year’s race aboard Mandarin Hero.

Bet Tessuto in the Santa Anita Derby

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7. Mc Vay (5-1)

Jockey: Hector Berrios

Trainer: John Shirreffs

Owner: C R K Stable

Career record: 4 starts – 0 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $61,500

Earnings per start: $15,375

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 94

Kentucky Derby points: 19

Pedigree: Constitution – Dothraki Sea, by Union Rags

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Mc Vay is winless in four starts having faced several of the best members of this Southern California 3-year-old division in his three races this season, including Santa Anita Derby contender Imagination as well as highly regarded Nysos. Yet he sits on the precipice of qualifying for the Kentucky Derby with 19 points, and a third-place finish (worth 25 qualifying points) in the Santa Anita Derby might be enough to send Mc Vay on to Louisville for the first jewel of the Triple Crown. The Constitution colt was a distant fourth in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes in February but took a step forward when third in the DK Horse San Felipe Stakes, won by the aforementioned Imagination. Mc Vay was a $1.25 million purchase out of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale of selected yearlings. He’s proved capable of competing against quality opposition but has never really threatened to win in any of his four starts, finishing 6 ¾ lengths or more behind the winner in every race. Mc Vay therefore needs to take a significant leap forward while boosting his Equibase Speed Figure by about 10 points in the Santa Anita Derby to be a win contender. A more likely scenario would be rallying to fill out the exacta or trifecta at a nice price for trainer John Shirreffs and owner C R K Stable, who teamed to win this race in 2020 with Honor A. P. Shirreffs also won the Santa Anita Derby in 2007 with Tiago and in 2017 with Gormley.

Bet Mc Vay in the Santa Anita Derby

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8. E J Won the Cup (15-1)

Jockey: Mike Smith

Trainer: Doug F. O’Neill

Owner: Superfecta King Stable (Margolis)

Career record: 8 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $116,440

Earnings per start: $14,555

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 97

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Omaha Beach – Firsthand Report, by Blame

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This chestnut Omaha Beach colt needed seven starts to earn his first career victory, leading from start to finish in a one-mile maiden-optional claiming race at Santa Anita Park Feb. 23. Although it took a while for that breakthrough win, E J Won the Cup had shown signs of ability with three runner-up finishes and a third in his first six races. Trainer Doug O’Neill sent him to Turf Paradise March 14 for his stakes debut, and E J Won the Cup again controlled the pace and coasted to a 3 ½-length win as the 1-10 favorite in a field of seven. E J Won the Cup, produced my multiple stakes winner and multiple stakes producer Firsthand Report, by Blame, outclassed the field at Turf Paradise and faces a much, much stronger level of competition in the Santa Anita Derby. His speed figures indicate he is capable of holding his own against this group, if at his best, and E J Won the Cup has improved as O’Neill stretched him out in distance from sprints to a mile and 1 1/16 miles in his last two starts. He figures to face considerable pressure for the early lead, however, which could hurt his chances against the best horses he’s faced to date. O’Neill is seeking his third win in the Santa Anita Derby – I’ll Have Another (2012), Goldencents (2013) – so it’s best not to dismiss E J Won the Cup’s chances, but it seems like pressing the pace and holding on for a minor award might be his ceiling Saturday. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith has won the Santa Anita Derby five times previously with Tiago (2007), Justify (2018), Roadster (2019), Honor A. P. (2020), and Taiba (2022).

Bet E J Won the Cup in the Santa Anita Derby