Tapit Trice shot up to the 2023 Kentucky Derby rankings with a win in the Tampa Bay Derby on Saturday. The three-year-old colt out of Tapit and Danzatrice surged from last to first to win the Grade 3 race. It was the third win in four starts for Tapit Trice, who moved to sixth place in the Road to Kentucky Derby 2023 standings as of March 13. The first-place finish gave the Todd Pletcher-trained horse 50 points. He is 40 behind topnotcher Forte, who is also trained by Pletcher. Tampa Bay Derby runnerup Classic Car Wash climbed to 10th place with 26 points. The 2023 Kentucky Derby is less than two months away and there are several stakes races remaining that could help a horse qualify for the first Triple Crown of the year, according to top experts who focus their time on giving the top horseracing odds available.
Tapit Trice Shot Up to the Ranking: Practical Move, Confidence Game in Striking Distance
Although Forte is sitting comfortably in first, two horses are in striking distance to outseat the Pletcher-trained colt. They are Fountain of Youth (G2) winner Practical Move and Rebel (G2) topnotcher Confidence Game. Practical Move and Confidence Game occupy second and third place with 60 and 57 points, respectively. They are ahead of Angel of Empire and Raise Cain, which both have 54 points. Rocket Can is in seventh with 40 points and is followed by Red Route One (33) and Instant Coffee (32). Bubbling under the charts are Sun Thunder and General Banker which both have 24 points going into the March 13 cutoff.
100-point Derby Races Heat up Kentucky Derby Qualifying
There will be no qualifying races this week but the level heats up on March 25 and 26 with three events that will certainly change the landscape of the qualifiers. The first two are on March 25 with the Louisiana Derby and the Jeff Ruby Steaks. The races are part of the Second Leg of the Championship Series that offer 100 points for the winner and 40, 30, 20 and 10 to the second, third, fourth and fifth placers, respectively. The following day, the first leg of the Championship Series concludes with the Sunland Derby. The top five finishers will pick up 50, 20, 15, 10 and five points in that order.
Arabian Knight out of the 2023 Kentucky Derby Picture
The owner of Arabian Knight has announced that his horse will not take part in the annual horseracing classic due to his poor training performance. Zedan Racing Stables wrote on social media that the colt out of Uncle Mo is “no longer under consideration” for the derby as trainer Tim Yakteen voiced displeasure over the horse’s last training session. The winter-book favorite will not compete in the event to give him “more time to develop.” He last raced on January 28 in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn where he won by 5 1/2 lengths.
On Thursday, Arabian Knight clocked in 1:13.6 at six furlongs, causing Yakteen to call off his scheduled run at the Kentucky Derby. His underwhelming performance came several days after he was timed 59.2 seconds in a five-furlong rehearsal and this means bad news to sports betting aficionados who are expecting the Arabian Knight to contend in the annual event.
