The 42-point level of the main Road to the Kentucky Derby will not ease into things Jan. 18.
Instead, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will serve up a crowded edition of the Lecomte Stakes (G3) to quickly shift into gear. Fourteen 3-year-olds have been entered in this year's 1 1/16-mile test that offers a purse of $250,000 and a Kentucky Derby (G1) points scale of 20-10-6-4-2 to the top five finishers.
The Lecomte is the first of nine races in the main Road series that will award this points scale, capped by the last-chance Lexington Stakes (G3) April 12 at Keeneland. But most of these events will be contested in January and February. The Risen Star Stakes (G2) gets the 105-point races going in mid-February.
As for Saturday, if all 14 horses make it to the gate in this year's Lecomte it would be a full field and more than twice as many runners as last year's edition when just a half dozen started. In that race, Track Phantom delivered a gate-to-wire victory while maintaining a clear advantage throughout. Track Phantom would stay busy on the Fair Grounds' Road to the Kentucky Derby as the son of Quality Road finished second in the Risen Star and fourth in the Louisiana Derby (G2) before an off-the-board finish in the Kentucky Derby.
The large field Saturday figures to set the stage for the remainder of this year's Derby prep races at Fair Grounds with the Risen Star scheduled Feb. 15 and the Louisiana Derby set for March 22 ahead of this year's Kentucky Derby May 3.
Last year's Risen Star winner, Sierra Leone, went on to finish second in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Belmont Stakes (G1) before putting it all together in the fall to win the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). After his Risen Star win, Sierra Leone prepped for the Derby with a victory in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1).
The third-place finisher in last year's Risen Star, Catching Freedom, captured the Louisiana Derby ahead of a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.
As for this year's Lecomte, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Built is the 3-1 morning-line favorite off his runaway victory in the Gun Runner Stakes Dec. 21 at the same distance on the Fair Grounds track. Trained by Wayne Catalano, the son of Hard Spun will make his 3-year-old debut after winning two of his three races last year.
The field's 9-2 second choice, Disco Time, is perfect in two starts for trainer Brad Cox who is plenty familiar with the Fair Grounds path to the Derby. In 2021 Cox-trained Juddmonte homebred Mandaloun placed third in the Lecomte, won the Risen Star, finished sixth in the Louisiana Derby, and then won the Kentucky Derby when he was moved up from second following the disqualification of Medina Spirit.
Last year Cox captured the Louisiana Derby with the aforementioned Catching Freedom. Juddmonte homebred Disco Time, a son of Not This Time , posted clear victories in a pair of November starts at Churchill Downs. He has been breezing regularly at Fair Grounds ahead of his 3-year-old and stakes debut Saturday.
