As the only horse in the Grade 2 $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity field with graded stakes experience, Litmus Test performed exactly as expected. His 1 1/4-length victory also was not surprising, given that his trainer, Bob Baffert, had already won the race 14 times as Litmus Test, Blacksmith, and Provenance gave Baffert a 1-2-3 finish in this year's edition of the 1 1/16-mile event at Los Alamitos Race Course.

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Bettors backed the three Baffert runners over the other three in the field, sending Litmus Test off as the 3-5 favorite in the six-horse field. Blacksmith, a maiden after two outings, went off as the 4-1 second choice, while Provenance, who broke his maiden last time out in his second start, was 6-1.

Provenance took the early lead clicking off fractions of :23.26, :46.67, and 1:10.43. Acknowledgemeplz bore out on the first turn floating out both Blacksmith and longshot American King badly.

Jockey Juan Hernandez put Litmus Test into second behind Provenance and the favorite was ready to pounce whenever Hernandez asked him to do so.

"He broke a step slow, but he relaxed nicely and we were able to save ground into the first turn," Hernandez said.

Hernandez asked Litmus Test in the second turn and the colt willingly. He moved up alongside Provenance and battled his stablemate for a few strides before passing him. Litmus Test was also able to stay ahead of the closing Blacksmith, who finished second while 3 1/2 lengths ahead of Provenance back in third. Litmus Test completed the distance in 1:42.38.

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"He was looking around a little bit in the stretch, but once he switched leads, he finished strongly," Hernandez said of the winner.

Litmus Test was coming out of a fourth-place finish behind Ted Noffey in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by TAA. Prior to that, Litmus Test broke his maiden in his debut before finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity. He also recorded a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland. None of Litmus Test's five rivals had ever before tried stakes company.

Baffert liked what he saw from Litmus Test, saying, "He was in a good spot. He looked like he was relaxed. You could tell down the backside he had control of the race. He's still a little green, but Juan was just telling me that the further the better for him. He loved this track. He got over it really well and just kept on going."

The Futurity is part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve points series. Litmus Test earned 10 qualifying points with the win for a total of 19 to date. He currently sits second on the leaderboard behind Ted Noffey.

The second- through fifth-place finishers in the Futurity earned points on a 5-3-2-1 scale toward the 2026 Kentucky Derby. After Blacksmith and Provenance, the order of finish was completed by Acknowledgemeplz, American King, and Captivator.