Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky is far and away the best to have ever stepped on the track at Hoosier Park. His presence in the Indiana Derby is an excellent reward for a track that has done good things for racing recently. However, I digress.

Lookin At Lucky is clearly the best three-year-old in training. He crushed his foes by 4 lengths last out in the Haskell Invitational. Since that race he has missed a bit of training, but you can expect him to be as good as ever. Bob Baffert probably sees this race as a way to get him an easy win before the Breeders Cup Classic and pick up the winners check in a $500k race. He should be 1/5 here and for good reason.

The horse that leaps off the page when I look at the Indiana Derby is Uareoutlaw. He is a Brazilian bred and raced son of the Wild Again stallion Christine’s Outlaw. It’s not so much his form that impresses, but the fact that he is in the barn of Mike Maker and owned by Thomas Conway. You may recall that they hooked up at huge odds to win the Bluegrass Stakes earlier this year with Stately Victor. Maker has been known to pull big upsets, and this horse is working bullets. He could be any kind, but running past the Preakness winner is a huge task.

This race has the perfect setup for Steve Asmussen’s Thiskyhasnolimit. He ran very well  to win the $300k Smarty Jones when turning back in distance last out. Look for jockey Jamie Theriot to take back and make a big run late in the race. He is the only horse with even a marginal chance of beating Lucky.

The late running Seeking The Title looks like a contender in the Indiana Oaks, which is the race preceding the Indiana Derby. After just a quick glance at the PPs I think Ash Zee, and Always a Princess will hook up on the front end. This sets it up for Seeking The Title.

If you’re within driving distance I highly encourage making the trip to Hoosier Park. It’s worth it alone just to see Lookin At Lucky.

Who are your picks for these races?

Bob Baffert and Martin Garcia have hooked up to win yet another graded stakes event. This time it was the Grade 3 Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows with Concord Point. Martin Garcia has had quite the hot hand lately and this race was no different. He stalked the early pacesetter and drew off to an easy 8 1/2 length win over Thiskyhasnolimit and Winslow Homer.

Concord Point broke the track record with a final time of 1:40.37 for the 8.5 furlongs distance. The son of Tapit easily bested the old time of 1:40.82 set in 2003 by Excessivepleasure.

Holy Bull Stakes winner Winslow Homer had a great trip behind the speed, but when asked for his best run he did not respond. He was classy enough to grab third place. Thiskyhasnolimit rallied for second place honors after winning the Matt Winn Stakes last out at Churchill Downs.

It looks like Concord Point really loved the extra distance and traditional dirt surface. This bodes well for his chances of making a splash in the Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs later this year. Look for Bob Baffert to campaign him masterfully until November.

The feature race of the day at Prairie Meadows was the Grade 2 Cornhusker Handicap and it was won by Shadowbdancing. The five-year-old son of Montbrook finished second in this race last year after setting the pace. This time he took a stalking position and it ended up in victory for jockey Eddie Razo Jr. Shadowbdancing won for the 10th time in 24 starts increasing his lifetime earnings $622,495.

Seeking The Title finally registered a break through win in the Iowa Oaks earlier in the card. She was piloted by jockey Calvin Borel. You may recall that she lost her jockey in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes a few months ago. Harissa was second.

Perhaps the most important horse to race at Prairie Meadows in terms of future potential this weekend was Majesticperfection. He won the Iowa Sprint Handicap EASILY on Friday night in 1:07.24 for six furlongs. Jockey Shaun Bridgmahon never asked him for his best run, but he threw a few crosses at the son of Harlan’s Holiday. Trainer Steve Asmussen has to be thinking Breeders Cup Sprint after that effort.