Saturday, Fair Grounds hosts its fourth and final qualifying points race for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve as 10 3-year-olds were entered up to contest the $1 million, Grade 2 Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. The top five finishers in the Louisiana Derby will receive points to help them reserve a spot in the first jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown May 3 at Churchill Downs, distributed on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis.

The Louisiana Derby has a rich history and in recent years has become even more important as a prep race after it was extended in distance to 1 3/16 miles in 2020. That makes it the longest North American qualifying race for the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby in Churchill Downs’ points series. Five horses have exited the Louisiana Derby and trained on to win the Kentucky Derby.

This year’s 112^th Louisiana Derby drew a very competitive field headlined by undefeated John Hancock, winner of the Sam F. Davis Stakes in early February. The race will be broadcast live on CNBC and FanDuel TV and also streamed on Peacock, with a scheduled post time of 6:42 p.m. ET.

Read on for information about each Louisiana Derby contender plus some betting analysis:

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1. John Hancock (7-2 morning-line odds):

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owners: WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.

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

Career earnings: $138,560

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 97

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 20

Pedigree: Constitution – Scribbling Sarah, by Freud

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Pacesetter

Analysis: This son of promising young sire Constitution jumped onto the Derby trail with a gritty half-length win over Owen Almighty in the Sam F. Davis Stakes Feb. 9 at Tampa Bay Downs. He entered that 1 1/16-mile Derby points race off of a pacesetting, three-length win in a six-furlong sprint in early January at Tampa, and once again led from start to finish while stretching out to two turns and against tougher company. His win was flattered considerably when Owen Almighty returned to dominate the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, and he’s definitely eligible to improve off of what is already impressive form in just his third career start Saturday. That said, this is a very competitive edition of the Louisiana Derby and John Hancock should have company up front as fellow contenders Built, Caldera, Yinzer, and Furio all have shown prior ability to win by setting the pace. He’s also making his first start away from Tampa Bay Downs. Look for reigning Eclipse Award-winning jockey Flavien Prat, who rode John Hancock in the Sam F. Davis, to position his mount no worse than third early in the Louisiana Derby and possibly put him on the lead once again. Prat has won this race the past two years, teaming up with trainer Brad Cox in 2024 with Catching Freedom.

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2. Chunk of Gold (8-1)

Jockey: Jareth Loveberry

Trainer: Ethan West

Owner: Terry Stephens

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

Career earnings: $148,818

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 91

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 25

Pedigree: Preservationist – Play for Gold, by Cairo Prince

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Closer

Analysis: Chunk of Gold will seek to improve on his late-running second-place finish last month on this track in the Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes and secure at least a third-place finish in the Louisiana Derby. He broke out of the starting gate slowly in the 1 1/8-mile Risen Star and had to check in the homestretch, yet he still kept grinding to finish 9 ¾ lengths behind Magnitude and a head in front of Built. Magnitude dominated the Risen Star in a surprising gate-to-wire romp and now is sidelined and off the Derby trail. This colt, who was purchased as a yearling for only $2,500, won his debut sprinting and then ran second in the one-mile Leonatus Stakes, both held at his home track of Turfway Park and on an all-weather surface, before shipping to Fair Grounds for the Risen Star. He handled dirt well enough but will still need to improve to have any chance at an upset in the Louisiana Derby; that said, even nabbing third and 25 more qualifying points would put him in good stead toward making it to the Kentucky Derby. Jockey Jareth Loveberry rode Chunk of Gold for the first time in the Risen Star and retains the mount for young trainer Ethan West, who is enjoying the ride with his first Derby contender.

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3. Tiztastic (8-1)

Jockey: Joel Rosario

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Owners: Winchell Thoroughbreds, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith

Career record: 7 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $949,800

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 97

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 19

Pedigree: Tiz the Law – Keesha, by Tapit

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Closer

Analysis: For four consecutive starts, Tiztastic has earned qualifying points for the 2025 Kentucky Derby without winning, beginning last October when he finished second in the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs behind top Derby contender Sovereignty. He followed that with a third-place effort in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill in November and then third- and fifth-place finishes in the Southwest Stakes and Rebel Stakes, respectively, at Oaklawn Park this year. Tiztastic’s M.O. has been the same in all four of these 1 1/16-mile races, which came after he won twice on turf as a juvenile: take back off of the pace and make one sustained run through the homestretch. So far, he has not shown enough of a late kick to do more than nab minor awards against the best of his age group, which does, however, make him more suitable to use in exacta and trifecta bets than as a possible upset candidate. After his two starts at Oaklawn Park, his connections now try Tiztastic in a longer-distance race and ship him to a racetrack with a longer homestretch. He’ll also be ridden by Joel Rosario for the first time, and the Hall of Fame jockey has had recent success in the Louisiana Derby, winning both in 2021 and 2022, the latter aboard Epicenter for trainer Steve Asmussen.

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4. Yinzer (12-1)

Jockey: Ben Curtis

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Owners: West Point Thoroughbreds, CJ Stables, and William S. Farish

Career record: 4 starts – 1 win – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $48,540

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 89

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 0

Pedigree: Twirling Candy – Rehearsed, by Tapit

Color: Bay

Running style: Pacesetter

Analysis: Unlike his stablemate Tiztastic drawn just to his inside, Yinzer will be stepping up in class in the Louisiana Derby, has a forwardly placed running style, and has experience on Fair Grounds’ dirt track. He makes his stakes debut after three consecutive starts in New Orleans, finishing fifth twice and then breaking through by winning a 1 1/16-mile maiden race by two lengths Feb. 15. In that win, the Twirling Candy colt jumped to the lead immediately and was never really challenged after that, scoring a 11.20-1 upset over eight opponents – an easy trip he’s doubtful to repeat in the Louisiana Derby. Still, Yinzer figures to be one of two or three contenders that will provide early pressure to morning-line favorite John Hancock and, if he helps ensure a fast pace, that could set things up for off-the-pace runners such as Tiztastic, Chunk of Gold, and a couple of others. Ben Curtis takes the mount for four-time Louisiana Derby-winning trainer Steve Asmussen. He recently piloted Asmussen-trained Magnitude to a gate-to-wire victory in the Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes, but that colt is now sidelined due to injury.

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5. Caldera (5-1)

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas

Owner: MyRacehorse

Career record: 4 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $174,616

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 10

Pedigree: Liam’s Map – Send Me On My Way, by Tiznow

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Analysis: This handsome gray colt turned heads in his stakes debut last time out when he just missed in the Sunland Park Derby Feb. 16 in New Mexico, losing by a nose to favored Getaway Car. Caldera made a sweeping move on the far turn of the 1 1/16-mile Sunland Derby and briefly moved past that rival in midstretch, but he could not fully separate and was outfinished in the final strides by Getaway Car. That runner came back to disappoint last weekend when finishing fifth in the Virginia Derby to Caldera’s stablemate, American Promise. The Sunland Derby was Caldera’s fourth career start and first since he posted a front-running, 5 ½-length victory in a 1 1/16-mile maiden race at Oaklawn Park in mid-January. The D. Wayne Lukas trainee improved his Equibase Speed Figure from a 93 in that Oaklawn win to a 100 in the Sunland Derby, and a similar jump Saturday could put him in the Fair Grounds winner’s circle and then send him off to Louisville to join American Promise in the Kentucky Derby. Look for first-time rider Tyler Gaffalione to position Caldera just off of the early pace in the Louisiana Derby in hopes of capitalizing on a duel between John Hancock and one or two other possible leaders.

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6. Built (9-2)

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

Trainer: Wayne Catalano

Owner: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners

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

Career earnings: $224,204

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 103

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 35

Pedigree: Hard Spun – Sea Garden, by Curlin

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Analysis: Despite finishing 9 ¾ lengths behind the winner in his most recent race, Built profiles as a leading win contender in the Louisiana Derby. He took immediately to Fair Grounds’ dirt track when shipped south from Kentucky over the winter, easily winning the 1 1/16-mile Gun Runner Stakes back in late December and then finishing second by a neck to Disco Time in the 1 1/16-mile Lecomte Stakes in mid-January. The Hard Spun colt then made his third consecutive start in a Fair Grounds’ Kentucky Derby prep, and he along with 10 other horses was no match for runaway winner Magnitude in the Feb. 15 Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes. Built raced in third, and then second, behind that pacesetter through the backstretch and far turn of the 1 1/8-mile Risen Star, but never threatened to take the lead and tired late to lose runner-up honors by a head to longshot Chunk of Gold. Fact is, no runner aside from Magnitude was impressive in the Risen Star, and Built has shown enough talent in his young career to rebound with a solid effort Saturday. Jockey Jose Ortiz, who currently having a very good meet riding regularly at Fair Grounds for the first time, takes the mount on Built after he was piloted by Jareth Loveberry and Luis Saez in his earlier Fair Grounds Derby preps. The colt will also wear blinkers for the first time, which should help him focus as he projects to settle in midpack for the first mile or so of the Louisiana Derby.

New to racing? Let us explain…

Blinkers are cups that are placed on the outside of each eye on a horse prior to a race. They can be cut to different lengths and are used to restrict the horse’s field of vision, which ideally will enable him/her to perform better through improved focus on what is in front of him rather than what is behind.

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7. Vassimo (12-1)

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owner: Team Penney Racing

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

Career earnings: $39,500

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 90

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 10

Pedigree: Nyquist – Bsharpsonata, by Pulpit

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Like Built, Vassimo is eligible to improve off of his recent effort in the Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes, and he profiles as an intriguing longshot. The well-bred son of Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist finished first in both starts prior to making his stakes debut in the Risen Star, first in a one-turn, one-mile race at Gulfstream Park in December and then in a one mile and 70-yard race at Tampa Bay Downs in January, both with Irad Ortiz Jr. in the irons. (Note: Vassimo subsequently was disqualified for his debut victory due to a medication violation.) Multiple Eclipse Award winner Ortiz also rode Vassimo in the Risen Star, and the colt had an unusual trip where he stalked within reach of pacesetter Magnitude early on only to lose three positions and fall back 11 lengths nearing the top of the stretch. Vassimo did not quit, however, and came back to finish fourth in a 12-horse field, albeit 12 ½ lengths behind a dominant Magnitude. He’ll be fitted with blinkers Saturday, and with a better trip and a more contested pace up front, Vassimo can make up a lot of that ground in the Louisiana Derby at what should be solid post-time odds for trainer Todd Pletcher, who has won this race a record five times.

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8. Furio (12-1)

Jockey: Luis Saez

Trainer: Joe Sharp

Owners: Scott and Evan Dilworth

Career record: 3 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $57,400

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 92

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 0

Pedigree: McKinzie – Take Charge Angel, by Will Take Charge

Color: Bay

Running style: Pacesetter

Analysis: Locally-based Furio will make his stakes debut in the Louisiana Derby, and he projects to be one of two or three horses, including morning-line favorite John Hancock, that duels for the early lead. He’s set the pace in all three of his prior starts going back to last fall, when he tired in the stretch to finish third in a six-furlong sprint at Churchill Downs. In his 3-year-old debut January at Fair Grounds, again at six furlongs, Furio broke in front and this time won with ease by four lengths. He then tried two turns for the first time Feb. 17 at Fair Grounds in a 1 1/16-mile allowance-optional claiming race, and gave up the lead in early stretch to finish second behind the horse drawn to his outside in the Louisiana Derby, Instant Replay. Luis Saez, a good pace jockey, takes the reins on Furio for the first time Saturday, so look for him to be aggressive and send his mount up to challenge John Hancock, Yinzer, and possibly Built for the lead soon after the race starts. He’ll need to run the race of his young career to have any chance at pulling the upset, and projects more as an exacta or trifecta filler in the race.

New To Horse Racing? Let Us Explain...

An exacta or trifecta filler: We're suggesting that you might want to add the horse to your bet if you’re playing an exacta (picking the first two finishers) or a trifecta (first three finishers), and using this horse in the second and/or third slot but not to win.

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9. Instant Replay (6-1)

Jockey: Florent Geroux

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owners: Gary and Mary West

Career record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $96,358

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 0

Pedigree: Maximum Security – Academy Gal, by Medaglia d’Oro

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Instant Replay comes into the Louisiana Derby out of the same race as Furio drawn to his inside, having rallied to defeat that rival by five lengths in a 1 1/16-mile allowance-optional claiming race at Fair Grounds on Feb. 17. Prior to that, the Gary and Mary West homebred son of their Grade 1 winner Maximum Security won one of four starts dating back to last summer, that coming in a one-turn mile maiden race in November at Churchill Downs that he also took with a powerful closing rush. His recent win at Fair Grounds was his first around two turns, and Instant Replay appeared to relish the configuration, earning a 100 Equibase Speed Figure. Jockey Florent Geroux has been aboard this colt for all of his races and retains the mount Saturday. Geroux has won the Louisiana Derby twice, once for trainer Brad Cox aboard Wells Bayou in 2020. Cox also trains John Hancock, giving him two big chances to pick up a third Louisiana Derby win and second in a row. There appears to enough speed horses entered in Saturday’s race to ensure a fast pace, which could set things up perfectly for this colt making his stakes debut.

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10. Hypnus (12-1)

Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.

Trainer: Ken McPeek

Owner: Brookdale Racing

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

Career earnings: $67,250

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 93

Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 0

Pedigree: Into Mischief – Dream Tree, by Uncle Mo

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Analysis: After turning heads with a powerful win in his January career debut at Fair Grounds, Hypnus did not fire when ambitiously moved up to start in the Rebel Stakes Feb. 23 at Oaklawn Park, finishing seventh of 13 and seven lengths behind Coal Battle. He encountered traffic at the quarter-pole of that 1 1/16-mile race and had to pause in early stretch before continuing on with a methodical rally. Conversely, Hypnus’ debut on this racetrack was impressive indeed, as he rallied strongly in the stretch to score by 2 ½ lengths going 1 1/16 miles at odds of 16.10-1. That race was held on a sloppy track, and the forecast for Feb. 22 in New Orleans calls for sunny skies and dry conditions. That said, this son of top sire Into Mischief out of a Grade 1-winning mare is just starting his career and could show rapid improvement in his third career start as young horses often do. If he gets a clean trip, look for Hypnus to be rallying late under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., who has been aboard for both of his prior starts. Both Hernandez and trainer Ken McPeek have one Louisiana Derby win on their respective résumés.

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