Burnham Square wins Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland to secure Kentucky Derby spot
Burnham Square — trained by Ian Wilkes and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr. — won a photo finish in a distinct 101st running of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on Tuesday night at Keeneland to secure his spot in next month’s Grade 1, $5 million Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
Burnham Square edged out East Avenue by a nose at the wire to win, followed by River Thames in third and Admiral Dennis in fourth.
A gelding, Burnham Square triumphed from a talented field of seven 3-year-olds who traveled 1 1/8 miles over a fast main track at Keeneland. Burnham Square — who won the race in 1:51.33 — is now the seventh gelding to win the Blue Grass, and the first since Dominican in 2007.
Burnham Square settled in at the back of the field after being bumped at the start then made his move by sweeping past four foes around the far turn. He didn’t catch East Avenue until sticking his nose in front at the wire.
“Just let him travel, let him cruise along,” Hernandez said of his race plan with Burnham Square. “That’s the nice thing about a horse like him. For a 3-year-old to make such a long run like he did today and be able to run down Grade 1 winners like he did, he’s an exciting horse to move forward with.”
Burnham Square paid $10.48 to win, $5.18 to place and $3.34 to show. Following Admiral Dennis in the final order of finish were Render Judgment, Owen Almighty and Chancer McPatrick.
This was the fifth running of the Blue Grass to be decided by a nose since the race was first contested at Keeneland in 1937.
Tuesday’s result was the latest in a line of family triumphs at Keeneland for Burnham Square. He’s from the family of three-time Keeneland stakes winner La Coronel, who in 2017 won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup and the Grade 3 Appalachian, as well as the Grade 3 Jessamine in 2016.
This is Hernandez’s second win in the Blue Grass Stakes. He also won the top Kentucky Derby prep race in 2020 with Art Collector. That edition of the Blue Grass was contested in July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of course, Hernandez did the Kentucky Derby-Kentucky Oaks double last year with Thorpedo Anna (the 2024 Horse of the Year) and Mystik Dan.
Burnham Square banked 100 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby with his victory at Keeneland. In addition to Burnham Square, fellow Blue Grass runners Owen Almighty, East Avenue and River Thames all have earned a starting spot in the Derby.
“I’ll watch him. He’ll tell me what I need to do. But we have to keep the foot on the gas — got to keep the foot down on the pedal — because we’ve got to get a little better again,” Wilkes, the trainer, said of Burnham Square’s upcoming Derby prep. “It’s going to be very deep waters, and we’ve got to get a lot better.”
Brian Lynch — the trainer of Owen Almighty, who finished in a dead heat for sixth in the Blue Grass — cast doubt after the race on Owen Almighty’s participation in the Kentucky Derby.
“I don’t think the Derby is the way we will go,” Lynch said. “We’ll regroup and talk with our people and come up with another plan.”
Admiral Dennis — who ran fourth in the Blue Grass — was supposed to be ridden by Luis Saez, but Saez suffered an injury during an undercard race Tuesday at Keeneland. Admiral Dennis was instead ridden by Manny Franco.
Tuesday’s edition of the Blue Grass, one of the top prep races on the road to the Derby, took place three days later than scheduled. Normally run on the opening Saturday of the Spring Meet at Keeneland, this year’s Blue Grass took place on a Tuesday after the first two days of the Spring Meet (Friday and Saturday) were postponed until Monday and Tuesday due to severe weather and heavy rainfall that ravaged the commonwealth.
Sunday served as opening day for the Spring Meet at Keeneland, which hosted 10 stakes races over Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Keeneland shifted away from holding races on Tuesdays starting with the 1991 Spring Meet.
Before Tuesday’s race, the last time the Blue Grass was held on a weekday was in 1988, when Granacus won on April 28, a Thursday.
This year’s edition of the Blue Grass also boasted a record purse amount. The $1.25 million that the race is worth matches the purse amount for the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile, which is run at Keeneland during the Fall Meet. These are the two richest races held at the Lexington track.
Burnham Square — now the 12th horse to win the Blue Grass Stakes from post position No. 3 — will try to become the 11th horse to do the Blue Grass-Kentucky Derby double.
Ten horses — Shut Out (1942), Tomy Lee (1959), Chateaugay (1963), Northern Dancer (1964), Lucky Debonair (1965), Forward Pass (1968), Dust Commander (1970), Riva Ridge (1972), Spectacular Bid (1979) and Strike the Gold (1991) — have previously won both the Blue Grass Stakes and the Kentucky Derby, although no horse has accomplished this double in more than 30 years.
A total of 19 horses who ran in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland have gone on to win the Run for the Roses.
2025 Kentucky Derby field now finalized
Tuesday night’s running of the Blue Grass Stakes was the last meaningful qualifying race ahead of next month’s Kentucky Derby.
Only one qualifying race remains on the road to the Derby: Saturday’s Grade 3, $400,000 Stonestreet Lexington at Keeneland, which will award qualifying points to the top-five finishers on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale.
But none of the nine entrants in the race have accumulated Derby qualifying points. As a result, none of the horses — regardless of their finishing position — would be able to make the Derby starting gate.
Given this, Tuesday’s Blue Grass settled what the likely 2025 Kentucky Derby field will be.
The top 17 Derby points earners on the American Road to the Kentucky Derby are expected to make the Derby field, if their connections choose to race them.
Two horses from the Euro/Mideast Road to the Derby — UAE Derby winner Admire Daytona and Heart of Honor, the runner up in that race — are expected to compete in the Kentucky Derby.
The Japanese Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying pathway winner, Luxor Cafe, will also be competing in the Run for the Roses. A Kentucky-bred horse, Luxor Cafe is a son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
Here’s what the top 17 of the American qualifying leaderboard now looks like for the Derby, with horse names, qualifying points, jockeys and trainers listed.
The following horses, along with Admire Daytona, Heart of Honor and Luxor Cafe, are now in position to run in the 151st Kentucky Derby.
▪ 1: Burnham Square: 130 points, ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr. and trained by Ian Wilkes.
▪ 2: Sandman: 129 points, ridden by Jose Ortiz and trained by Mark Casse.
▪ 3: Journalism: 122.5 points, ridden by Umberto Rispoli and trained by Michael McCarthy.
▪ 4: Rodriguez: 121.25 points, ridden by Mike Smith and trained by Bob Baffert.
▪ 5: Tiztastic: 119 points, ridden by Joel Rosario and trained by Steve Asmussen.
▪ 6: Tappan Street: 110 points, ridden by Luis Saez and trained by Brad Cox.
▪ 7: Sovereignty: 110 points, ridden by Manny Franco and trained by Bill Mott.
▪ 8: Final Gambit: 100 points, ridden by Luan Machado and trained by Brad Cox.
▪ 9: Coal Battle: 95 points, ridden by Juan Vargas and trained by Lonnie Briley.
▪ 10: Chunk of Gold: 75 points, ridden by Jareth Loveberry and trained by Ethan West.
▪ 11: Citizen Bull: 71.25 points, ridden by Martin Garcia and trained by Bob Baffert.
▪ 12: Owen Almighty: 65 points, ridden by Jose Ortiz and trained by Brian Lynch.
▪ 13: East Avenue: 60 points, ridden by Luan Machado and trained by Brendan Walsh.
▪ 14: Publisher: 60 points, ridden by Flavien Prat and trained by Steve Asmussen.
▪ 15: American Promise: 55 points, ridden by Nik Juarez and trained by D. Wayne Lukas.
▪ 16: River Thames: 50 points, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. and trained by Todd Pletcher.
▪ 17: Flood Zone: 50 points, ridden by Reylu Gutierrez and trained by Brad Cox.
The current projected also-eligible horses for the Kentucky Derby are:
▪ Flying Mohawk: 50 points, ridden by Joseph Ramos and trained by D. Whitworth Beckman.
▪ Grande: 50 points, ridden by Dylan Davis and trained by Todd Pletcher.
▪ Madaket Road: 46 points, ridden by Mike Smith. and trained by Bob Baffert.
▪ Built: 45 points, ridden by Jose Ortiz and trained by Wayne Catalano.
This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 6:43 PM.
