First Points of the Prep Season 🐎🌹

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September 15, 2026 2:01pm EDT

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Saturday, May 1, 2027
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Bob Baffert Captures the First Road to the Kentucky Derby Prep Win of the Season

Zedan Racing Stables’ Salahudin is the early points leader on the 2027 “Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve” after the Uncle Mo colt overcame a slow start and rallied to win Saturday’s 45^th running of the $300,000 Iroquois (Grade III) for 2-year-olds at Churchill Downs by a half-length over He Is No Lie. Caribbean Life was another 2 3/4 lengths back in third, Real Goodbar was fourth, and Real Gone finished fifth.

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Makuna Honey Keeps Streak Alive in Pocahontas Stakes

Manuka Honey ran one mile over a fast track in 1:36.90 to remain unbeaten for jockey Luis Saez, trainer Brian Lynch and owners Lisa Lee, Jason Sciortino, William Lynch, Brian Howe and Terry Hamilton.

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Ten to Follow on the Road to the 2027 Derby

Here are 10 juveniles who could continue to progress as the calendar turns to 2027 and the prep race distances increase. Going by location rather than trying to assign premature rankings, here are the contenders to watch from Saratoga, heading across the country to Del Mar, and ending with Ellis Park graduates who will square off in the Iroquois.

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Derby Alumni | Forever Young (JPN)

Friday marks the grand reopening of Belmont Park after a three-year redevelopment, and a global celebrity will add luster to the occasion.

Forever Young, Japan’s all-time great dirt campaigner, tops the field entered in the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1). The 1 1/4-mile prize serves as the stepping stone to his title defense in the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland.

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The Road to May Is Officially Underway

The first steps toward the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks have been taken at Churchill Downs.

With victories in the Iroquois and Pocahontas, Salahudin and Manuka Honey now sit among the first names to watch on the road to the first weekend in May. It is a reminder that Derby and Oaks dreams can begin long before the roses and lilies are on the line.

Select Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks two-day packages are now available. Because when the journey returns to the Twin Spires in May, there is no place like Churchill Downs.

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First Points of the Prep Season 🐎🌹

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