NEW ORLEANS, La. — From gate to wire! It's Epicenter who wins by 2 3/4 lengths in the Grade two race Saturday evening at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, LA.
The three-year-old colt collected 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, which launches him into first place on the Derby leaderboard at 64 points for hall of fame trainer Steve Asmussen.
The favorite, Smile Happy, tallied 20 Derby points finishing runner-up and is now ranked second on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. Zandon earned 10 qualifying points and Pioneer of Medina collected five qualifying points. Epicenter paid out nine dollars for the win.
The 2022 Risen Star Stakes is the most lucrative 'Road to the Kentucky Derby' prep race so far this year, as it awarded 85 Derby qualification points to the top four finishers on a 50-20-10-5 basis.
