The Doug O’Neill trained Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champion Nyquist heads to Louisville as the favorite for the Kentucky Derby(Photo credit: Breeders’ Cup Ltd.).
The Steve Asmussen trained Gun Runner topped the 2016 Road to the Kentucky Derby Points Standings, winning the Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds on March 26 in his last prep for the Run for the Roses.
The colt is currently at betting odds for the Kentucky Derby at +800 at Mybookie.ag. He has won four of his five career starts, the lone loss a fourth place finish in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) last fall at Churchill Downs.
The undefeated Nyquist finished second in the points standings and is the betting favorite for the Kentucky Derby at +300 at Mybookie.ag.
The colt has won all seven of his starts and was the early betting favorite last fall after winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) last fall.
Mohaymen overtook him as the early betting favorite after winning the Holy Bull (G3) and Fountain of Youth (G2), but weakened to finish fourth behind Nyquist in the Florida Derby (G1) and his price has now drifted up to +500. The colt finished with 80 Derby points, good for eighth in the points standings.
Exaggerator (126), Outwork (120) and Brody’s Cause (114) round out the top five.
Sitting in 20th in the points standings is Trojan Nation with 40 points. If there are any defections the next four are Mo Tom, Fellowship, Adventist and Laoban, each with 32 points. Mo Tom would be the first in based on non-restricted stakes earnings.
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FInal Road to the Kentucky Derby Points Standings
| Rank | Horse | Trainer | Points | Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gun Runner | Steve Asmussen | 151 | $849,200 |
| 2 | Nyquist | Doug O’Neill | 130 | $3,289,000 |
| 3 | Exaggerator | Keith Desormeaux | 126 | $1,628,000 |
| 4 | Outwork | Todd Pletcher | 120 | $660,000 |
| 5 | Brody’s Cause | Dale Romans | 114 | $1,100,000 |
| 6 | Creator | Steve Asmussen | 110 | $690,000 |
| 7 | Lani | Mikio Matsunaga | 100 | $1,300,119 |
| 8 | Mor Spirit | Bob Baffert | 84 | $616,800 |
| 9 | Mohaymen | Kiaran McLaughlin | 80 | $807,750 |
| 10 | Danzig Candy | Cliff Sise Jr. | 60 | $290,000 |
| 11 | Destin | Todd Pletcher | 51 | $338,000 |
| 12 | Suddenbreakingnews | Donnie Von Hemel | 50 | $637,000 |
| 13 | Cupid | Bob Baffert | 50 | $542,857 |
| 14 | Oscar Nominated | Mike Maker | 50 | $321,360 |
| 15 | Shagaf | Chad Brown | 50 | $270,000 |
| 16 | Whitmore | Ron Moquett | 44 | $400,000 |
| 17 | Tom’s Ready | Dallas Stewart | 44 | $270,670 |
| 18 | My Man Sam | Chad Brown | 40 | $200,000 (Career: $251,200) |
| 19 | Majesto | Gustavo Delgado | 40 | $190,000 |
| 20 | Trojan Nation | Paddy Gallagher | 40 | $190,000 (Career: $213,290) |
| 21 | Mo Tom | Tom Amoss | 32 | $268,326 |
| 22 | Fellowship | Stanley Gold | 32 | $206,590 |
| 23 | Adventist | Leah Gyarmati | 32 | $155,000 |
| 24 | Laoban | Eric Guillot | 32 | $142,000 |
| 25 | Dazzling Gem | Brad Cox | 30 | $150,000 |
| 26 | Cherry Wine | Dale Romans | 25 | $145,000 |
| 27 | Discreetness | Williams Fires | 10 | $251,011 |
| 28 | Star Hill | Rusty Arnold | 10 | $66,500 |
Road to the Kentucky Derby
| 9/12/15 | Iroquois | 1 1/16M | Churchill Downs | Cocked and Loaded |
| 9/26/15 | FrontRunner | 1 1/16M | Santa Anita | Nyquist |
| 10/3/14 | Breeders’ Futurity | 1 1/16M | Keeneland | Brody’s Cause |
| 10/3/15 | Champagne | 1M | Belmont | Greenpointcrusader |
| 10/4/15 | Grey | 1 1/16M |
Woodbine | Riker |
| 10/31/15 | BC Juvenile | 1 1/16M | Keeneland | Nyquist |
| 11/21/15 | Delta Downs Jackpot | 1 1/16M | Delta Downs | Exaggerator |
| 11/28/15 | Remsen | 1 1/8M | Aqueduct | Mohaymen |
| 11/28/15 | Kentucky Jockey Club | 1 1/16M | Churchill Downs | Airoforce |
| 12/19/15 | Los Alamitos Futurity | 1 1/16M | Los Alamitos | Mor Spirit |
| 1/2/16 | Jerome | 1 mile 70 yds | Aqueduct | Flexibility |
| 1/9/16 | Sham | 1M | Santa Anita | Collected |
| 1/16/16 | Lecomte | 1 mile 70 yds | Fair Grounds | Mo Tom |
| 1/18/16 | Smarty Jones | 1M | Oaklawn Park | Discreetness |
| 1/30/16 | Holy Bull | 1 1/16M | Gulfstream | Mohaymen |
| 1/30/16 | Withers | 1 1/16M | Aqueduct | Sunny Ridge |
| 2/6/16 | Robert B. Lewis | 1 1/16M | Santa Anita Park | Mor Spirit |
| 2/13/16 | El Camino Real Deby | 1 1/8M | Golden Gate | Frank Conversation |
| 2/15/16 | Southwest | 1 1/16M | Oaklawn Park | Suddenbreakingnews |
Kentucky Derby Championship Series
| 2/20/16 | Risen Star | 1 1/16M | Fair Grounds | Gun Runner |
| 2/27/16 | Fountain of Youth | 1 1/16M | Gulfstream | Mohaymen |
| 3/5/16 | Gotham | 1 1/16M | Aqueduct | Shagaf |
| 3/12/16 | Tampa Bay Derby | 1 1/16M | Tampa Bay Downs | Destin |
| 3/12/16 | San Felipe | 1 1/16M | Santa Anita | Danzing Candy |
| 3/19/16 | Rebel | 1 1/16M | Oaklawn | Cupid |
| 3/20/16 | Sunland Derby | 1 1/8M | Sunland Park | (Canceled) |
| 3/26/16 | Louisiana Derby | 1 1/8M | Fair Grounds | Gun Runner |
| 3/26/16 | UAE Derby | 1 3/16M | Meydan | Lani |
| 4/2/16 | Florida Derby | 1 1/8M | Gulfstream | Nyquist |
| 4/2/16 | Spiral | 1 1/8M | Turfway Park | Oscar Nominated |
| 4/9/16 | Wood Memorial | 1 1/8M | Aqueduct | Outwork |
| 4/9/16 | Blue Grass | 1 1/8M | Keeneland | Brody’s Cause |
| 4/9/16 | Santa Anita Derby | 1 1/8M | Santa Anita | Exaggerator |
| 4/16/16 | Arkansas Derby | 1 1/8M | Oaklawn Park | Creator |
| 4/16/16 | Lexington | 1 1/16M | Keeneland | Collected |
