Oddsmakers put Art Collector in top tier of Kentucky Derby contenders after Blue Grass win
An impressive victory in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland has lifted Art Collector into the top tier of Kentucky Derby contenders.
The latest odds from the William Hill sportsbook Monday listed Art Collector as the 8-1 fourth choice for the Derby, which will be run Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs. The only contenders with shorter odds on the William Hill sheet are Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law (11-5), Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A.P. (5-1) and Santa Anita runner-up Authentic (6-1).
The Blue Grass Stakes was Art Collector’s first attempt at a Derby points race, and he didn’t disappoint, turning back star filly Swiss Skydiver in the stretch for a 3 ½-length victory and 100 Derby qualifying points, more than enough to get in the starting gate in September. His winning time of 1:48.11 made for the second-fastest Blue Grass Stakes in the past two decades. (Dullahan won the race in 1:47.94 over the polytrack in 2012).
Art Collector also earned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure for Saturday’s effort, the best number of any Kentucky Derby contender so far this prep season. Honor A.P. earned a 102 Beyer for his Santa Anita victory, and Tiz the Law ran 100 Beyers in the Belmont Stakes and the Holy Bull Stakes in February. No other Derby contender has a triple-figure Beyer in 2020.
There will be eight weeks between the Blue Grass Stakes and Kentucky Derby dates in this abnormal year of horse racing. Art Collector’s trainer, Tommy Drury, who earned his first graded stakes victory with Saturday’s win, said the 3-year-old son of Bernardini left Keeneland for his home base of Skylight Training Center in Goshen on Saturday night and will remain there for the time being. Drury said Sunday that there wasn’t much time to celebrate the night before.
“It was a pretty special day,” he said. “You know how we horse trainers are. I had to get him back to Skylight last night and I had to be at Churchill Downs at 5:30 (Sunday morning) for the first set. I wound up having a frozen pizza and a cold beer.”
Drury, a Louisville native who will have his first Derby starter, said he would discuss Art Collector’s next step with owner Bruce Lunsford in the coming days. They could decide to have Art Collector train up to the Derby with no additional prep races or run him in the Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9.
Art Collector was 2-for-2 for the year — with both wins coming at Churchill Downs — before his victory in the Blue Grass Stakes.
Swiss Skydiver earned 40 Derby points for her runner-up effort in the Blue Grass and is nominated for the Triple Crown, but trainer Kenny McPeek said after the race that she was likely headed for the Kentucky Oaks, where she’s the clear No. 1 on the points leaderboard.
William Hill updated its odds Monday to put Swiss Skydiver at 100-1, in case a change of plans sends her to the Derby.
Tiz the Law, Honor A.P., Authentic and Art Collector are the only Derby contenders with current odds of shorter than 10-1 on the William Hill line.
The Bob Baffert-trained Uncle Chuck — a colt that didn’t make his debut until last month and is now 2-for-2 for his young career — is next at 10-1. Belmont Stakes runner-up Dr. Post is 18-1. Japanese contender Cafe Pharoah — son of American Pharoah — follows at 20-1, but Japanese-based racing journalist Kate Hunter reported Sunday that he will not travel to the United States for the Kentucky Derby, and it’s looking like no horse from the Japanese prep series will claim a spot in the Derby field.
Cezanne — another lightly raced Baffert trainee — is next at 22-1, though he does not have any Derby points yet. Arkansas Derby runner-up King Guillermo is at 25-1, and no other Derby contender is shorter than 30-1, according to the William Hill odds.
Rushie, the third-place finisher in both the Blue Grass Stakes and Santa Anita Derby, has enough qualifying points to make the Kentucky Derby field, but he is not currently nominated for the Triple Crown races. He was set to return to California on Monday, and trainer Michael McCarthy said the next step for Rushie has not yet been decided.
“Nothing is set in stone for Rushie,” he said. “There are plenty of options.”
Rushie is at 125-1 on the William Hill sheet.
Only six Derby points races remain on the prep schedule: the Peter Pan on Thursday (50 points to the winner), the Haskell on Saturday (100 points), the Shared Belief on Aug. 1 (50 points), the Travers on Aug. 8 (100 points), the Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9 (50 points) and the Pegasus on Aug. 15 (20 points).
Keeneland betting numbers
Despite no fans in attendance due to COVID-19 precautions, the five-day Keeneland Summer Meet resulted in a wagering total of $63,299,331. Saturday’s 10-race card — bolstered by the Blue Grass and five other graded stakes races — drew $23,834,972 in wagering.
“Horsemen and fans alike highly anticipated the Summer Meet, and their expectations were exceeded by the breathtaking level of racing we enjoyed here this week,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said Sunday. “I can’t express how much we missed our fans at Keeneland, and we thank them for their strong support from afar. This pandemic created a number of operational and logistical challenges for us to make this season a reality. I am so proud of the collaboration between state and local health officials, our horsemen, our corporate partners and our Keeneland team, all of whom worked tirelessly to create a safe environment on track and deliver such incredible racing.”
The abbreviated Summer Meet replaced the planned 16-day April Spring Meet, which had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prat tests positive
Southern California’s leading jockey, Flavien Prat, has tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the fifth jockey who raced at Los Alamitos on the Fourth of July weekend to contract the virus.
Prat, who raced Saturday at Keeneland, returned to Del Mar and underwent a test Sunday morning to confirm his eligibility to ride. He failed.
Prat’s agent, Derek Lawson, said that Prat feels fine and is on a 10-day quarantine.
“There is no way it happened at Keeneland,” Lawson said. “It was likely something that transpired at Los Al from the last time he was riding over there. It could be some kind of hot spot, but we don’t know.”
Luis Saez rode three horses at Los Alamitos on July 4, then went on to ride at Belmont, Indiana Grand and Keeneland before he tested positive at the Kentucky track last week.
Other riders from Los Alamitos to test positive since then are Victor Espinoza, Martin Garcia and quarter-horse jockey Eduard Kennis Rojas Fernandez.
The Los Angeles Times contributed to this article.
This story was originally published July 13, 2020 at 12:26 PM.
