Stevie Wonderboy, winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Belmont Park, who on Monday received the Eclipse Award as the champion 2-year-old colt of 2005, heads the short list of dual qualifiers for this year’s Kentucky Derby, to be run May 6 at Churchill Downs.
To be a dual qualifier, a horse must 1) be the highweight, or ranked within 10 pounds of the highweight, on the Experimental Free Handicap ranking the top 2-year-olds of the previous year based on their performances in open stakes races; and 2) have a Dosage Index (DI) of 4.00 or lower.
The Dosage Index is figured using a mathematical formula based on the chefs-de-race (influential sires) in a horse’s four-generation pedigree. Chefs-de-race are classified into five categories, called a Dosage Profile, ranging left-to-right from speed to stamina: Brilliant, Intermediate, Classic, Solid and Professional. The lower the DI, theoretically, the more stamina the horse should have.
The dual qualifier system was originated by the Daily Racing Form in the early 1980’s and helped pinpoint winners Swale, Spend A Buck, Ferdinand, Alysheba, Unbridled, Sea Hero, Go for Gin, Thunder Gulch and Silver Charm.
No dual qualifier has won the Derby since Silver Charm in 1997. Last year’s Derby winner, 50-1 shot Giacomo, was ranked at 122 pounds on the Experimental, just four below highweight Declan’s Moon, but he was not a dual qualifier because his DI, 4.33, was a tad over the 4.00 threshold.
In the 2005 Experimental, released yesterday by The Jockey Club, Stevie Wonderboy – seeking to become the first 2-year-old champion to win the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979, and the first Breeders’ Cup Juvenile ever to win the Run for the Roses – was named the 126-pound highweight. First Samurai, winner of the Hopeful and Champagne, third in the BC Juvenile; Brother Derek, winner of the Hollywood Futurity, who defeated Stevie Wonderboy when they made their 3-year-old debuts in the Jan. 14 San Rafael; and Private Vow, winner of last year’s Belmont Futurity and Kentucky Jockey Club, are the only other dual-qualifiers.
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Ky. Derby Pool 1 Latest Odds
Betting on this year’s Kentucky Derby Future Wager, Pool 1, continues at Aqueduct, the Meadowlands, Monmouth Park, Freehold, and all OTB outlets. Advance action on the May 6 Derby will run until 6 p.m. Sunday. A $2 win wager is the minimum bet. There are no refunds in the Derby Future Wager.
Program #, Horse Odds
1. A.P. Warrior 40-1
2. Achilles of Troy 12-1
3. Barbaro 30-1
4. Barbican 35-1
5. Blazing Rate 99-1
6. Bluegrass Cat 23-1
7. Bob and John 30-1
8. Brother Derek 30-1
9. Cause to Believe 70-1
10. Doctor Decherd 99-1
11. First Samurai 18-1
12. Flashy Bull 70-1
13. Half Ours 90-1
14. Henny Hughes 60-1
15. High Cotton 99-1
16. Itsallboutthechase 90-1
17. Keyed Entry 90-1
18. Lawyer Ron 45-1
19. Point Determined 30-1
20. Private Vow 30-1
21. Sorcerer’s Stone 90-1
22. Stevie Wonderboy 9-1
23. Your Tent Or Mine 70-1
24. All Other 3-year-olds 3-5
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Dual Qualifiers
Horse — Weight — Dosage Profile — Dosage Index
Stevie Wonderboy 126 4-2-14-0-0 1.86
First Samurai 124 6-3-11-0-0 2.64
Brother Derek 121 10-3-16-1-0 2.33
Private Vow 119 4-2-9-2-3 1.11