Luxor Cafe Tops Japan Road’s Hyacinth Stakes 

• Down The Stretch: The Road to the Longines Kentucky Oaks Championship Series continues Sunday 
• Key Races To Watch To Watch 
• Upcoming Road To Kentucky Derby Races
• Road To Kentucky Derby Leaderboard 

Derby Dispatch/Edited

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Luxor Cafe, a two-time winner most recently victorious in the Jan. 11 Kurochiku Sho at Nakayama Racecourse, leads a competitive field of 14 3-year-olds in Sunday’s Hyacinth Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse.

The about one-mile contest is the third leg of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby and will be run as Race 9 with a post time of 12:25 a.m. ET.

The Hyacinth awards qualifying points on a 30-15-9-6-3 scale to the top five finishers with several Triple Crown nominees including: Danon Figo, Ecoro Azel, Happy Man,On the Move, Promised Gene, Poulsen, Taisei Dorado and Vilja Lied.

More information about the Hyacinth click here.

Down The Stretch 

The Road to the Longines Kentucky Oaks Championship Series continues Sunday at Oaklawn with the $500,000 Honeybee (GIII) featuring heavy 7-5 morning line favorite Muhimma. The Honeybee will go as Race 9 at 5:07 p.m. On Friday, eight fillies are entered in the $218,000 UAE Oaks (GIII) at Meydan Racecourse, which will go as Race 4 at 10:15 a.m. …

Honey Bee Field

The Road to the Kentucky Oaks Prep Season concludes Friday night at Turfway Park with the $175,000 Cincinnati Trophy headlined by highly-regarded maiden special weight winner Girl Math. The Cincinnati Trophy will go as Race 7 at 8:55 p.m. …

Trainer Brendan Walsh did not have any immediate explanation for East Avenue’s puzzling 10^th-place performance in the Risen Star. The Grade I winner is tentatively scheduled to continue the Road to the Kentucky Derby, according to Walsh. …

Risen Star runner-up Chunk of Gold returned to Turfway Park on Sunday. Trainer Ethan West stated the colt is likely to return to Fair Grounds for the March 22 Louisiana Derby (GII) but will continue to monitor the likely fields for that race and the $777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (GIII), held the same day at Turfway Park. … 

Jerome Stakes winner Cyclone State leads a field of 10 3-year-olds entered in Saturday’s $1.5 million Saudi Derby (GIII), which will go as Race 3 at 8:20 a.m. Fans can watch the Saudi Derby, which will be run on the undercard of the $20 million Saudi Cup, on FS1. … 

Key Races To Watch To Watch 

This weekend there are several races around the world that could have implications on the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. Here are some of the key races:

Friday

• MEY R2 (9:05 a.m.), $218,000 Al Bastakiya, 3yo, 1 3/16 M
• MEY, R4 (10:15 a.m.), $218,000 UAE Oaks (GIII), 3yo f, 1 3/16 M
• OP, R7 (4:44 p.m.), MSW, 3yo f, 1 1/16 M
• TP, R7, (8:55 p.m.), $175,000 Cincinnati Trophy, 3yo f, 1 M (AW)

Saturday

• KAR, R3 (8:20 a.m.), $1.5 million Saudi Derby (GIII), 3yo, 1 M
• LRL, R8 (3:27 p.m.), $100,000 Miracle Wood, 3yo, 1 M
• GP, R9 (4:43 p.m.), MSW, 3yo, 1 1/8 M
• TP, R7 (8:55 p.m.), $175,000 John Battaglia Memorial (Listed), 3yo, 1 1/16 M (AW)

Sunday

• OP, R1 (1 p.m.), MSW, 3yo, 1 1/16 M
• AQU, R5 (2:27 p.m.), MSW, 3yo, 1 1/8 M
• OP, R9 (5:07 p.m.), $500,000 Honeybee (GIII), 3yo f, 1 1/16 M
• OP, R11 (6:23 p.m.), $1.25 million Rebel (GII), 3yo, 1 1/16 M
• TP, R9 (8:15 p.m.), MSW, 3yo, 1 M

Get ready for Kentucky Derby 151 with Inside the Kentucky Derby, the ultimate one-stop shop for all things Derby. Hosted by Churchill Downs’ Darren Rogers and Kevin Kerstein, this weekly podcast delivers the latest Derby news, analysis and insider insights, featuring respected industry guests. Fans can subscribe and download the show on popular podcast platforms, including iTunes, Spotify and YouTube. 

Churchill Downs’ Spring Meet stall applications are due by Monday, March 3 with the stable area reopening Tuesday, March 18. Click here for stall application.

Upcoming Road To Kentucky Derby Races

March 1 (nine weeks out) – $415,000 Fountain of Youth (GII), 1 1/16 miles, Gulfstream Park (Top 5 points: 50-25-15-10-5)
Known possible starters (with trainer): Burnham Square (Ian Wilkes); Ferocious (Gustavo Delgado); Gate To Wire (Todd Pletcher); Keep It Easy (Dale Romans); River Thames (Todd Pletcher); Sovereignty (Bill Mott)

March 1 (nine weeks out) – $300,000 San Felipe (GII), 1 1/16 miles, Santa Anita (Top 5 points: 50-25-15-10-5)
Known possible starters (with trainer): Barnes (Bob Baffert); Journalism (Michael McCarthy); Rodriguez (Bob Baffert); Romanesque (Bob Baffert)

March 1 (nine weeks out) – $300,000 Gotham (GIII), one mile, Aqueduct (Top 5 points: 50-25-15-10-5)
Known possible starters (with trainer): Gate To Wire (Todd Pletcher); Sacrosanct (Brad Cox); Sand Devil (Linda Rice)

March 8 (eight weeks out) – $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (GIII), 1 1/16 miles, Tampa Bay Downs (Top 5 points: 50-25-15-10-5)
Known possible starters (with trainer): Chancer McPatrick (Chad Brown); Gate To Wire (Todd Pletcher); Patch Adams (Brad Cox)

March 15 (seven weeks out) – $500,000 Virginia Derby, 1 1/8 miles, Colonial Downs (Top 5 points: 50-25-15-10-5)
Known possible starters (with trainer): Omaha Omaha (Michael Gorham); Surfside Moon (Chucky Lawrence); Test Score (Graham Motion)

March 22 (six weeks out) – $1 million Louisiana Derby (GII), 1 3/16 miles, Fair Grounds (Top 5 points: 100-50-25-15-10)
Known possible starters (with trainer): Built (Wayne Catalano); Chunk of Gold (Ethan West); Disco Time (Brad Cox); Instant Replay (Brad Cox); John Hancock (Brad Cox)

March 22 (six weeks out) – $777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (GIII), 1 1/8 miles (Tapeta), Turfway Park (Top 5 points: 100-50-25-15-10)

March 29 (five weeks out) – $1 million Florida Derby (GI), 1 1/8 miles, Gulfstream Park (Top 5 points: 100-50-25-15-10)
Known possible starters (with trainer): Ferocious (Gustavo Delgado); John Hancock (Brad Cox); River Thames (Todd Pletcher); Tappan Street (Brad Cox)

March 29 (five weeks out) – $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (GI), 1 1/8 miles, Oaklawn (Top 5 points: 100-50-25-15-10)
Known possible starters (with trainer): Caldera (Wayne Lukas); Getaway Car (Bob Baffert); Instant Replay (Brad Cox); John Hancock (Brad Cox); Speed King (Ron Moquett)

April 5 (four weeks out) – $750,000 Wood Memorial (GII), 1 1/8 miles, Aqueduct (Top 5 points: 100-50-25-15-10)
Known possible starters (with trainer): Captain Cook (Rick Dutrow Jr.); Getaway Car (Bob Baffert); McAfee (Rick Dutrow Jr.); Poster (Eoin Harty); Surfside Moon (Chucky Lawrence)

April 5 (four weeks out) – $1.25 million Blue Grass (GI), 1 1/8 miles, Keeneland (Top 5 points: 100-50-25-15-10)
Known possible starters (with trainer): Caldera (Wayne Lukas)

April 5 (four weeks out) – $750,000 Santa Anita Derby (GI), 1 1/8 miles, Santa Anita (Top 5 points: 100-50-25-15-10)
Known possible starters (with trainer): Baeza (John Shirreffs); Citizen Bull (Bob Baffert); Getaway Car (Bob Baffert);

April 12 (three weeks out) – $400,000 Lexington (GIII), 1 1/16 miles, Keeneland (Top 5 points: 20-10-6-4-2)

Note: The possible fields for upcoming Kentucky Derby Championship Series races are fluid as owners and trainers vie for points. Known possible horses mentioned to be under consideration for each race are based on published news reports and other sources. Horses listed in italics are possible for multiple races.

Road To Kentucky Derby Leaderboard 
Here are the Top 20 horses on the Road to the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard: