Meet the Contenders: $1,000,000 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx | Saturday, September 21, 2024

Saturday’s Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby gives 3-year-olds perhaps their last showdown within the class before potentially facing older horses in races like the Breeders’ Cup Classic or Dirt Mile. Those betting the Parx card Saturday with 1/ST BET and Xpressbet can enjoy a Bet $150, Get $25 promotion. And note the PA Derby – along with the Cotillion Stakes, featuring Thorpedo Anna – are part of a Pennsylvania Pick 4 on Friday-Saturday that begin with the Presque Isle Downs Masters and Mile.

Let’s meet the contenders for the Pennsylvania Derby (Race 13):

#1-Doc Sullivan: New York-bred is 7-for-7 in the exacta lifetime for trainer Michael Miceli, winning the Mike Lee at Saratoga in the slop over 7 furlongs. Extended to the farthest trip of his career, having raced around 2 turns just twice previous, runner-up finishes in the New York Derby and Albany Stakes. Jose Ortiz rides for the first time.

#2-Seize the Grey: Preakness winner looks to bounce back from out-of-the-money finishes in the Belmont and Jim Dandy. The last Preakness winner to add the PA Derby was Summer Squall in 1990.  Trainer D. Wayne Lukas won the ’13 PA Derby with Will Take Charge. Jaime Torres, who piloted him to Pat Day Mile and Preakness wins, returns in the saddle.

#3-Lonesome Boy: Locally based winner of March’s City of Brotherly Love Stakes looks to snap a 3-stakes losing streak since. Hugo Padilla trains the former maiden claimer who finished on the heels of PA Derby return rival Protective in April’s Wood Memorial.

#4-Timeout: Curlin colt makes his graded stakes debut for trainer Bill Mott, who won this race in 1998 (Rock and Roll) and 2011 (To Honor and Serve). Just 1 win from 5 starts and was a non-threatening third in Saratoga’s Curlin Stakes behind PA Derby re-matched rival Unmatched Wisdom. Joel Rosario has the return mount.

#5-Protective: Sixth-start maiden breaker on turf at Saratoga most recently, this regally bred son of Medaglia d’Oro-Grace Hall got stakes experience earlier this year. Third in the Wood and Peter Pan, he never factored when sixth in the Belmont Stakes. Todd Pletcher won this race in 2002 (Harlan’s Holiday) and turns the reins back over to Irad Ortiz Jr., a two-time PA Derby winner.

#6-Just Step On It: Trainer Louis Linder sends this Parx-based colt back in the main event after a solid runner-up try in the local prep, the August 24 Smarty Jones Stakes. Son of Accelerate was fourth in the Grade 1 Haskell prior. Claimed for $32,000 at Del Mar in December and has earned more than $200,000 since coming east.

#7-Dragoon Guard: Expected PA Derby favorite has won 4 straight and is a neck away from an unblemished record. Recent victories include the Indiana Derby and West Virginia Derby. Trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux seek to go back-to-back in this race, having won last year with Saudi Crown. The only other connections to win the PA Derby in succession were Bob Baffert-Mike Smith in 2017-’18. Should vie for the lead throughout.

#8-Unmatched Wisdom: Chad Brown trainee saw his unbeaten streak end at 3 with a no-match seventh in the Grade 1 Travers last time out. Twice a winner over the PA Derby’s 1-1/8 miles distance, including in the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga. Regular rider Flavien Prat, coming off a record-setting stakes run at the Spa, gets the mount back after jumping saddles in the Travers. Prat won this race in 2021 (Hot Rod Charlie), Brown in 2016 (Connect).

#9-Who’s the King: Mike Smith and Saffie Joseph Jr. team up with this longshot who has managed 1 victory from 10 starts, a maiden optional claimer at Gulfstream in April. Smith is a 3-time PA Derby winner (2017, ’18, ‘22), while Joseph orchestrated one of the biggest upset in this race’s history with 31-1 Math Wizard in 2019.

#10-Uncle Heavy: Perennial Parx standout trainer Butch Reid has one of his top career PA Derby hopes. Uncle Heavy won the Withers in February and has danced several big dances since, including a sixth-place effort in the Preakness behind PA Derby rival Seize the Grey. Even third last out in the Smarty Jones, top local prep for this race. Mychel Sanchez, who has ridden him to all 3 career wins, reunites on Saturday.

#11-Stronghold: Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby winner looks to turn the tables on his Indiana Derby conqueror Dragoon Guard after a runner-up bid as the 6-5 favorite. That loss and wide draw likely will inflate the odds on the Phil D’Amato trainee who has been a national traveler. Seventh in the Kentucky Derby, that was his only finish outside the exacta in 7 lifetime starts. Regular rider Antoni Fresu is back.