It takes a quality 3-year-old to be a contender for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. It can also takes some astute planning to earn a spot in the field. For the connections of 10 3-year-olds, a spot in the run for the roses will be on the line this weekend at Colonial Downs. Saturday’s Virginia Derby is worth 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers, basically assuring the winner of a spot in the field of 20 on the first Saturday in May.

Virginia Derby contender Buetane (BENOIT photo)

1. Buetane: Has raced three times in graded stakes and finished second twice and third once. Faces an easier test in an ungraded stakes and should work out a good trip from the rail with Flavien Prat aboard.

JOCKEY: Flavien Prat; TRAINER: Bob Baffert

2. Grittiness: Maiden rallied to finish a distant second in Aqueduct’s Withers Stakes at this distance. Seems on the slow side here.

JOCKEY: Rajiv Maragh; TRAINER: Todd Pletcher

3. Epic Desire: Finished a nonthreatening fifth in the Sam F. Davis Stakes. Would need to take a big step forward to be a major threat.

 JOCKEY: Sheldon Russell; TRAINER: Todd Pletcher

4. Work: Needed five tries to break his maiden and the winning one came in a turf sprint. Showed little in two dirt races at Santa Anita. Pass.

JOCKEY: Mychel Sanchez; TRAINER: Doug O’Neill

5. High Camp: Comes off a couple of fast sprint races at Gulfstream Park. Has the speed figures to be a contender, but can he handle 1 1/8 miles? That’s the big concern.

JOCKEY: John Velazquez; TRAINER: Will Walden

6. Lockstocknpharoah: Followed a maiden win with a powerful allowance victory, but those wins came on an all-weather surface at Turfway Park. Has a dirt pedigree, so he might be worth a look if the price is right.

JOCKEY: Edgar Morales; TRAINER: Thomas Drury Jr.

7. Incredibolt: Won the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs in promising fashion to close 2025. Started this year showing little in the Holy Bull Stakes against Nearly. If it was simply a matter of needing a race, he could bounce back with a big effort here.

JOCKEY: Jaime Torres; TRAINER: Riley Mott

8. Confessional: Showed a great deal of talent in his first two starts but faded to seventh while making his stakes debut in the Sam F. Davis. Put in a bullet workout for this and could rebound against this field.

JOCKEY: Irad Ortiz Jr.; TRAINER: Brad Cox

9. Ocelli: Maiden tried stakes company in the Sam F. Davis and made a middle move before dropping back to sixth. Speed figures are comparable to most of the entrants. Might be able to sneak into the exotics.

JOCKEY: Joseph D. Ramos; TRAINER: Whit Beckman

10. Clocker Special: Was second by a neck in an Oaklawn Park allowance race in his first start in a little more than six months. Outside post should not be a problem in this one-turn, 1 1/8-mile stakes.

JOCKEY: Cristian Torres; TRAINER: Rodolphe Brisset

THE PICK: Buetane

LIVE LONGSHOT: Ocelli

SUPERFECTA: 1-8-5-9