Even if Mother Nature has yet to bring the heat in 2026, the Kentucky Derby season is about to warm up with the first 50-points-to-the-winner race: the Risen Star Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds Race Course. The point total up top makes this a de facto win and you’re in race for the Kentucky Derby on May 2 at Churchill Downs. That and the $500,000 purse helped attract a solid field including Remsen Stakes winner Paladin, Gun Runner Stakes winner Chip Honcho and Lecomte Stakes winner Golden Bandit. The presence of Paladin, in particular, should ensure good prices elsewhere. Paladin ships in from Florida for trainer Chad Brown, a move the conditioner used two years ago for Sierra Leone’s three-year-old debut after concluding his two-year-old season in the Remsen. Paladin is the morning line favorite both for this race as well as pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, so expectations are lofty. I am going to try to beat him, though. The Remsen was a fine race, and the horse he beat that day-Renegade-came back to win the Sam F. Davis Stakes last week, but numbers wise it is only as good as what other top performers in this race ran. So backing Paladin means you’re betting on him not only to return to form in his three-year-old debut after being off for two months but also improve on it. That’s certainly possible with Brown pulling the strings but not likely enough to bet him at even money (or worse) Golden Tempo has questions as well but mine with him surround run style. The Lecomte set up perfectly for his closing kick, and I’m not sure as much speed is signed on here. The biggest speed threat is Chip Honcho, who had a tough go at it from the outside post in the Lecomte. I am going to bet him to reverse fortunes here on the front end. Universe is the other horse I’m willing to give a mulligan to. Like Chip Honcho in the Lecomte, Universe laid an egg in his three-year-old debut after running well in a stakes to close out his two-year-old season. Unlike Chip Honcho, there is no real excuse. He just didn’t run. The odds figure to be right to gamble that he runs more to his two-year-old form. From a wagering perspective, I am most excited about betting Chip Honcho to win, and I will also play him in exotics with Universe. Ed DeRosa, for Woodbine Share This:Share
