Horse racing fans seeking a post-Derby fix can find just that in the southwestern corner of the Bluegrass State as Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel hosts the third round of the Kentucky Standardbred Development Fund (KSDF) four-year-old series on Sunday (May 7), followed by one of the most challenging betting cards of the young season on Monday (May 8).
All four of Sunday's $50,000 KSDF events center around rubber matches between their respective first- and second-round winners. In the mare trot (Race 1), first-round winner Eternal Lee (driver Andy McCarthy, Post 5, 7-5 morning line) looks to exact revenge on Yanaba (John MacDonald, Post 6, 9-5) after falling a length short of her in round two, Similarly, the male pace (Race 3) will see I Did It Myway (Andy McCarthy, Post 3, 8-5) look to rebound after giving futile pursuit to All Or Nothing (Scott Zeron, Post 1, 2-1) in the second round.
In the mare pace (Race 6), Queen Of Success (Andy McCarthy, Post 5, 5-1), who dug in to outlast a four-horse photo in the second round, will again meet with first-round winner Boudoir Hanover (Todd McCarthy, Post 7, 2-1) as well as other late pursuers Ainthesamewithoutu and Dont Fence Me In. Keg Stand (Yannick Gingras, Post 4, 7-5) — one of four second-round invaders — looks to build on a 1:54.1 win in the male trot and first-round winner Iwont Backdown As (Tony Hall, Post 6, 10-1) will try to rebound from a mid-race break in stride.
Sunday's program also features a $1,460.80 carryover in the Late Pick-5, which comprises races 6-10.
Monday's card offers a bonanza of betting opportunities as eight of the day's 12 races offer full fields of 10 entrants and a number of challenging conditioned races. To help bettors, Oak Grove offers detailed trip notes for all of their races, along with full-card selections from racing analyst Ray Cotolo at the Oak Grove website.
Daily post time is 3 p.m. CDT (4 p.m. EDT).
(Oak Grove)