The Equibase leaderboard saw a significant shakeup last weekend following a loaded Valentine’s Day card at Fair Grounds and Sunday’s program at Sunland Park, both of which featured key Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and Kentucky Oaks preps.

Saturday marked the first 50-point Kentucky Derby prep of the season, as the Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds offered 105 total points to the top five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale. Paladin, winner of the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct in December for trainer Chad Brown, improved to 3-for-3 with a determined half-length victory in the Risen Star, surging late to edge a game Chip Honcho. Paladin earned $300,000 for the win and vaulted into third among 3-year-old males and sixth overall on the Equibase earnings leaderboard and now leads the Kentucky Derby standings with 60 total points.

Also on Saturday at Fair Grounds, the Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra Stakes was the first 50-point Kentucky Oaks prep of the season, offering 105 total points to the top five finishers. Bella Ballerina, a half-sister to 2023 Kentucky Oaks winner Pretty Mischievous, lived up to her 4-5 favoritism in the six-horse field. After setting the early pace and being overtaken in the stretch, Bella Ballerina battled back along the inside to prevail by a half-length over Luv Your Neighbor. Unbeaten as a 2-year-old, including a win in the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs in November, the Street Sense filly continued her strong form in her first start of 2026. The Rachel Alexandra victory earned her $180,000, moving her into second in the 3-year-old filly division and 12th overall on the leaderboard. With 50 points added to the 10 she secured in the Golden Rod, Bella Ballerina now leads the Kentucky Oaks standings.

The $500,000 Sunland Park Derby and the $250,000 Sunland Park Oaks, each worth a total of 42 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale, are a staple of the Sunland Park meet. On Sunday, the Sunland Park Derby delivered a thrilling stretch run with Pavlovian nosing out Express Kid for trainer Doug O’Neill, who won at a 36% clip last week. A Reddam Racing homebred, Pavlovian rocketed up the leaderboard into second in the 3-year-old male division and fifth overall.

Rachel Alexandra Stakes winner Bella Ballerina (Eclipse Sportswire)

Earlier on the Sunland card, Bottle of Rouge made her first start since a sixth-place finish in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies a winning one in the Sunland Park Oaks. Bottle of Rouge took command at the top of the stretch as the 2-5 favorite and edged clear to a 1 ½-length victory for trainer Bob Baffert with Juan Hernandez aboard. She earned a career-best 94 Equibase Speed Figure in her 3-year-old debut and moved into fourth in the 3-year-old filly division with $147,000 from her win on Sunday. Battle of Rouge ranks 10^th on the Oaks leaderboard with 20 points.

The older male division also saw some movement this past weekend. Lagynos, a 5-year-old son of Kantharos, earned the highest Equibase Speed Figure of any horse in North America last week, posting a career-best 116 for his 2 ¼-length victory in the Grade 3 Fair Grounds Stakes Presented by Horse Racing Nation on Saturday. The Steve Asmussen trainee finished runner-up in his 5-year-old debut in the Colonel E. R. Bradley Stakes in mid-January before his win on Saturday and moved into 13^th in the older male division and 32^nd overall with $125,000 in 2026 earnings.

Tyler Gaffalione continues to hold a steady lead among North American jockeys by more than $1 million, now with $3,738,302 in earnings. Despite having just three wins, Gaffalione led all jockeys last week by earnings with $641,010. On Saturday at Fair Grounds, Gaffalione won both the Rachel Alexandra Stakes aboard Bella Ballerina and the Risen Star aboard Paladin.

On the training side, Saffie Joseph Jr. remains on top with $3,574,065 in earnings, however Steve Asmussen is now less than $1 million behind in second. Asmussen led all trainers by earnings and wins last week and moved past Brad Cox into second.

Last week’s top trainer by earnings — Steve Asmussen: 11 wins, $624,290

Last week’s top jockey by earnings — Tyler Gaffalione: 3 wins, $641,010

Last week’s top Equibase Speed Figure — Lagynos: 116

North American leaders lists for horses, jockeys, trainers and owners are available on equibase.com and you can filter the data to view by a wide variety of categories including age, sex, surface and race type.