Angel of Empire Sweeps Into Road to Kentucky Derby 2023: The surprise win of Angel of Empire in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds Race Course on Saturday generated a shakeup in the Road to Kentucky Derby 2023 leaderboard. The 13-1 favorite outclassed Sun Thunder and Two Phil’s to take home the victory and gain the maximum 50 points given to the race winner. The race’s high points distribution where the top five finishers gain 50-20-15-10-5 points proved to be big for the three-year-old colt out of Classic Empire as he surged to the top of the table with 54 points. The Brad Cox-trained horse is now ahead of erstwhile leader and 2022 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Forte, who remained in 40 points. He has not raced since November 2022 and the Todd Pletcher-trained thoroughbred is scheduled to take part in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes. Experts betting for horseracing say there is still a long way to go as other horses still have a ton of chance to make it to the final list.
Angel of Empire Sweeps Into Road to Kentucky Derby 2023: Tight Race
After Angel of Empire and Forte is Brad Cox-handled Instant Coffee. The three-year-old colt is in third with 32 points and his last race was in January at the Grade 3 Lecomte. In fourth is Risen Star runnerup Sun Thunder with 24 points. He is a point ahead of Risen Star third-placer Two Phil’s (23). Three horses share sixth place with 20 points. They are Rocket Can, Hit Show and Litigate. Curly Jack is in ninth with 17 points and Blazing Sevens and Arctic Arrogance share 10th spot with 16 points. Jace’s Road (15) and Red Route One (13) occupy 12th and 13th places, respectively, while a bunch of horses that include Victory Formation, Tapit’s Conquest and Dubyhnell share 14th place with 10 points.
Up Next
The next race in the trail to the 2023 Kentucky Derby is the Rebel Stakes on Saturday in Oaklawn and offers 50 points to eligible winners. A week later (March 4), three Grade 2 races that offer 100 points each to Top 5 finishers will take place in various race tracks. These are Gotham at the Aqueduct, San Felipe at Santa Anita and the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream. Tampa Bay Derby (Grade 2) and the Sunland Derby (Grade 3) conclude the first leg of the Championship Series events. The Tampa Bay Derby is set on March 11 in Tampa Bay and the Sunland Derby is slated five days later in Sunland Park.
The second leg of the trail will feature eight races that offer 100-40-30-20-10 to the Top 5 finishers. This will begin on March 25 with the Louisiana Derby, UAE Derby and the Jeff Ruby. Japan will also offer Road to Kentucky Derby points with the Fukuryu on March 25. The races will give online sports betting aficionados something to look forward to in the next few weeks as they will offer excitement and possibly big money if you pick the right horses in these events.
