The Wood Memorial and The Santa Anita Derby moved up a few horses already in the Road to the 2013 Kentucky Derby point standings. Once again there is a tie for 1st place – this time Orb and Verrazano each have 150 points.

Who will be the 2013 Kentucky Derby winner? Who wants the roses the most? Will there be enough time before the Derby for a horse to get any points and be able to race in the Derby? With the new point schedule, the 2013 Kentucky Derby prep races that are run the closest to the Derby can give the top finishers an automatic berth in the big dance on the first Saturday in May. Every horse owner and trainer hopes to be at Churchill Downs on Derby Day.

Santa Anita Derby winner Goldencents came out of the race fine. The 2nd place finisher, Flashback now has a small chip on his right knee and will go to Kentucky but not for the Derby. On Wednesday, he will fly to Kentucky for surgery at Rood and Riddle Hospital in Lexington.

Wood Memorial winner Verrazano came out of the race fine but his jockey Johnny Velasquez was injured in a spill on Sunday at Aqueduct and will not ride Horse of the Year Wise Dan next weekend. On Saturday, he was the envy of the jockey colony as he had the mounts on Orb and undefeated Verrazano – now we hope his rib and wrist will heal quickly. We hope he will be well by Derby time.

Here are the horses and their trainers with point standings over 10 points as of April 6, 2013

Horse Trainer Points
Orb, Shug McGaughey 150
Verrazano, Todd Pletcher 150
Goldencents, Doug O’Neill 129
Revolutionary, Todd Pletcher 110
Lines of Battle, Aidan O’Brien 100
Vyjack, Rudy Rodriguez 70
Will Take Charge, D. Wayne Lukas 60
Itsmyluckyday, Edward Plesa Jr. 50
Black Onyx, Kelly Breen 50
Govenor Charlie, Bob Baffert 50
Normandy Invasion, Chad Brown 44
Mylute, Tom Amoss 42
Elleval, David Marnani 40
Oxbow, D. Wayne Lukas 36
Uncaptured, Mark Casse 30
Super Ninety Nine, Bob Baffert 30
Java’s War, Kenny McPeek 22
Den’s Legacy, Bob Baffert 20
Falling Sky, John Terranova 20
West Hills Giant, John Terranova 20
Code West, Bob Baffert 20
Secret Number, Saeed bin Suroor 20
Merit Man, Robert Hess Jr. 20
Departing, Al Stall Jr. 20
Show Some Magic, Henry Dominguez 20
Tiz a Minister, Bob Baffert 20
Golden Soul, Dallas Stewart 14
Dynamic Sky, Mark Casse 13

Note – Elleval (40), Secret Number (20), Show Some Magic (20) are not nominated to the 2013 Triple Crown