Since the Iroquois Stakes was moved from late October/early November to mid-September we have seen more Kentucky Derby hopefuls, than eventual starters. Although, a few select horses such as Tapiture, Ride on Curlin and Mr. Z did get their chance to run for the roses at Churchill Downs the following spring. Their bids would fall short, but their journey from the first points race all the way to the Kentucky Derby was very unique. Today the long road begins again when the scoring resumes in the 2016 Iroquois Stakes.

At 3-1, Recruiting Ready is the morning line favorite. The son of Algorithms--Need nearly scored his first graded stakes win in his debut race at Churchill Downs on July 2. He did it by attempting to wire the eight other juveniles in the field with swift fractions of 21.76, 45.07 and 56.97 on the front end. The strategy looked to be a winner until his bid to draw clear was outmatched by Classic Empire who reeled him in the final furlong to win the Bashford Manor – G3.

Next time out the Horacio DePaz trainee looked even closer to a graded stakes win in the Saratoga Special – G2 on August 14. However, what appeared to be an easy win quickly turned into another runner up finish when Gunnevera soared home to steal the race at the wire from the heavy post time favorite. And then things got even worse when Recruiting Ready was disqualified from second and placed fourth for making contact with Tip Tap Tapizar near the three-eighths pole and knocking him off his stride.

Today, Gary Stevens will be in the saddle for the first time. The assumption is that Recruiting Ready will be back in position to get things right this time out, but he will also be stretching to out to over 1 mile for the first time in his young racing career.

The second choice on the morning line isThirstforlife. At 7-2 the son of Stay Thirsty - Promenade Girl returns to the track where he broke his maiden in his second career start. In between that effort and today was a respectable third place finish in the Best Pal – G3 at Del Mar, his graded stakes debut. In that contest Thirstforlife was in the mix throughout but he failed to fire a serious bid.

Florent Geroux returns for his second mount aboard Thirstforlife and first since he was in the irons for the colt’s career debut, a third place finish in the Kentucky Juvenile Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 5. Trainer Mark Casse will be attempting to win his second career Iroquois Stakes after notching his first in 2012 with Uncaptured.

Not This Time enters the Iroquois Stakes coming off his very first win for trainer Dale Romans. The one mile maiden victory by 10 lengths on the dirt at Ellis Park last month was his second career start. The son of Giant's Causeway – Miss Macy Sue is the co-third choice on the morning line.

Accompanying Not This Time at 4-1 isBlame Will, the son of Blame – Be My Prospect, trained by D. Wayne Lukas. This will also be his debut stakes race after a maiden win. Blame Will’s first victory came in his third career start and second at Saratoga after beginning his racing career here at Churchill Downs in June.

Lookin At Lee enters the Iroquois Stakes after winning back to back races at Ellis Park this summer. His first was in a maiden special weight race and followed by a more impressive score in the Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes. Though the stakes race was not graded and only featured five starters, the Steve Asmussen trainee by Lookin At Lucky – Langara Lass should be considered a live option for a nice price if his odds remain near his morning line mark of 6-1.

Honor Thy Father for trainer Kenny McPeek follows Lookin At Lee to the Iroquois Stakes from the Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes where he finished third. Prior to that the son of  To Honor and Serve – Hottie Dancer also broke his maiden at Ellis Park after striking out in his career debut at Churchill Downs last June. Coincidentally, Honor Thy Father finished behind Lookin At Lee in that race as well. Both horses missed the top three finishing fifth and sixth.

Just Move On moves into Churchill Downs for his first career start in the Bluegrass State after opening his career at Arlington Park earlier this summer. In two races from Chicago the Patrick Byrne trainee and son of Street Boss finished in the top three both times and won his last time out. Skinflint ships into Churchill Downs and the Kentucky racing circuit for the first time after breaking his maiden at Gulfstream Park last time out. The son of Super Saver, trained by Dane Kobiskie, was listed as the long shot on the morning line with odds of 20-1.

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» PA Derby 2016 Contenders » PA Derby Winners » Get FREE Picks!  » Get Trifecta/Superfecta Picks » $20K Contest This Saturday! » PLUS! Songbird vs Cathryn Sophia!

The 2016 Pennsylvania Derby (G2) will be run for an enhanced total purse of $1,250,000. An extra quarter million dollars will be added if Nyquist, the Kentucky Derby winner, and the Preakness first place finisher,Exaggerator, both start in the race. An unexpected full field of twelve three-year-olds was drawn to contest the nine-furlong stake at Parx Racing.

The owner and trainer of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes, Haskell, and Travers winners are eligible for a $50,000 appearance bonus. Therefore, the connections of Nyquist receive a total of $100,000, while Exaggerator's connections receive $200,000 if they start.

With Nyquist and Exaggerator renewing their rivalry, the Pennsylvania Derby could have significant implications in this division’s year-end championship. Nyquist dominated the first five months when he continued his unbeaten career with a win in California, the Florida Derby, and then the biggest victory of all in the Kentucky Derby. Twice, in that time, he beat Exaggerator. However, Nyquist has not found the winner’s circle since then, while falling short in the Preakness and the Haskell. Exaggerator has been the division leader since then. In that time he defeated Nyquist two times in the Preakness and the Haskell.  A win for either of them would give that horse a secure spot on top of the divisional race.

The field of twelve appears to have an interesting pace scenario with a number of horses that like to run on or close to the lead. One thing seems certain is that with the quality of this PA Derby field the race will finally achieve grade one status in 2017. Carded as race 11, the scheduled post time is 5:45pm ET.

Awesome Slew [ML 12-1, Paco Lopez] This Eddie Plesa trainee proved that Parx is a track to his liking when he crushed a field of a field of fourteen by seven lengths in the Smarty Jones (G3). He will no doubt be running on the lead early with his rail draw. Rider Paco Lopez is at his best with horses on the lead, but they will not be the only ones running fast early. Major Early Pace Factor

Exaggerator [ML 7-2, Kent Desormeaux] The early weather reports for Bensalem, PA, say that rain is unlikely and thus a FAST track should be expected at Parx. At this point, it is hard to deny that Exaggerator is at his best on a wet track and that you have to go all the way back to last year to find his first two career wins that happened on a dry track. The inside draw will make it easy for Desormeaux to save ground early in the race as he often wants to do. The expected hot early pace should set up for Exaggerator’s big closing move. Perfect Set-up Expected

Summer Revolution [ML 20-1, Mike Smith] This lightly raced son of Summer Bird gets Mike Smith in the saddle after Castellano opted to ride Connect. Expect this colt to be on or near the lead and help ensure a hot early pace. Distance limitations and a lack of experience have this one up against it. Early Speed

Connect [ML 12-1, Javier Castellano] In the Travers, Connect was a well-beaten sixth place finisher, but every horse was crushed when Arrogate blitzed that field. In the Curlin at Saratoga, Connect was impressive when he outdueled Gift Box. This is another that has done his best running close to the front, and with lots of speed inside of him, Castellano may be forced to work out a stalking or closing trip. Not Out of It

Cupid [ML 9-2, Rafael Bejarano] Of all the top contenders, Cupid is in top form right now. After a bad performance in the Easy Goer, trainer Bob Baffert got Cupid right and he recorded two big wins in mid-major Derbies in Indiana and West Virginia. Bejarano was the rider in both of those wins, when he had everything his way on the front end. He will have company on the lead, but may be a lot better than the other speed horses. I hope that Bejarano sits just behind the others and gets the jump on the rest of the field. Threat to Win

Wild About Deb [ML 30-1, Tiago Pereira] This one has been stabled at Parx since a recent trainer change to Ramon Preciado. He ran second to Awesome Slew in the Smarty Jones well ahead of the next runner. He has just a maiden victory on the west coast to his credit. Long Shot

Gun Runner [ML 6-1, Florent Geroux]Except for his poor performance on the sloppy track in the Haskell, Gun Runner has yet to run a bad race. His stalking style fits perfectly considering the anticipated hot pace. He ran well in the Travers behind the Baffert duo when the ten furlongs was clearly not his forte. I expect this Steve Asmussen runner to make his usual strong effort down the stretch. Top Three Finish Expected

My Man Sam [ML 20-1, Julien Leparoux] This Chad Brown runner was a surprise addition to the field. With only a maiden win, he has been a bit of a disappointment since his big closing move to get second in the Blue Grass. I don’t know if he has the quality to win a race like this, but he certainly will have the set-up to make a late run. Pass Some Tired Horses

Nyquist [ML 5-2, Mario Guitierrez]No doubt that Nyquist is the horse to beat, but there are lots of questions that the Two-year-old Champion has to answer. Trainer Doug O’Neill has changed things up since Nyquist lost in the Preakness and Haskell taking him to train off track. O’Neill says Nyquist has grown and he has been working him over long distances. The move off track raises red flags for me, but I may be wrong. With so much speed to his inside, jockey Mario Gutierrez may have no alterative but to come from off the pace with Nyquist. That could turn out to be a good thing if the rider can remain patient. The One to Beat

Sunny Ridge [ML 15-1, Joe Bravo]Sunny Ridge is a bit of a mystery horse. His racing schedule has been spotty and he has just one slow five-furlong work since the Haskell. He has never run a bad race including his third place finish in the Haskell. This is very tough spot with the seeming laid-back training methods of Jason Servis. Top Four Possible

Discreet Lover [ML 30-1, Jose Flores] Another Parx based runner, but this one seems to be out of his league here. Eleven of his career sixteen starts have come at Parx including his two wins. Don’t Expect Much

Hit It Once More [ML 20-1, Kendrick Carmouche] This New York-bred likes to run on the lead, so the far outside draw was the worst possible scenario. He has won two straight state restricted stakes for trainer Gary Sciacca, but this grade one is a very unlikely spot for success. Out Classed