2025 Lexington Stakes Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

The final points prep of the Kentucky Derby season happens Saturday, April 12, at Keeneland: the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes. The race offers 20-10-6-4-2 qualification points to the top five finishers, not enough to get a horse in the field but enough to get a horse on the bubble over the line. Some years there’s that bubble intrigue, and others years it’s more of a preview for which later bloomers might turn up in the Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, or major three-year-old races down the line.

In 2025, the Lexington has no Kentucky Derby implications, but will rather be a preview for horses expected to make an impact later in the season. Some of the runners have some Kentucky Derby prep experience and even a smattering of qualification points, but no one is on the bubble. Even so, the $400,000 purse (which includes Kentucky-bred incentives, but the entire field was bred in the Bluegrass State) is serious money, and winning this race gets a horse on the right track for even bigger spots after the run for the roses.

Leading contenders include Hutchinson Stakes winner Rolando, Bob Hope (G3) winner Bullard, impressive Gulfstream Park allowance winner Praetor, and sharp Gulfstream maiden winner Gosger. However, with so many lightly-raced horses in the field, anyone is liable to take a step forward and make the race interesting!

The history of the Lexington Stakes goes back to 1936. It began as a two-year-old race in the autumn, became a race for horses aged three and older in 1938, and then, after a long hiatus between 1943 and 1972, it was brought back as a sophomore feature called the Calumet Purse, an overnight allowance in 1973. Its most prominent winners in those days include Preakness winner Master Derby (1975) and champion juvenile Rockhill Native (1980). It has been the Lexington Stakes since 1984, and major winners in that era include Preakness and Belmont winner Risen Star (1988), Preakness and Belmont winner Hansel (1991), Belmont winner Touch Gold (1997), and Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Charismatic (1999).

With less than a month to go until the Derby, check out the latest Kentucky Derby odds and see which contenders are set to compete!

Lexington Stakes 2025 Information

• Race Date: Saturday, April 12, 2025
• Track: Keeneland
• Post Time: 5:16 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
• Distance: 1 1/16 miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Lexington Stakes Odds

This is the field for the 2025 Lexington Stakes, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and official morning-line odds for the field.

Lexington Stakes Prep Results

All nine entrants in the Lexington come out of different races, not uncommon for a short boutique meet like Keeneland.

Three horses come out of Kentucky Derby points races. The only one who comes out of a money finish in such a race is Touchy, who was most recently a well-beaten third behind Getaway Car in the Sunland Derby. Hypnus will try to bounce back from a seventh-place run behind Tiztastic in the Louisiana Derby (G2). Bracket Buster, most recently fifth in the Street Sense (G3) last fall at Churchill Downs, makes his sophomore debut in the Lexington.

Three others come out of races that did not offer Kentucky Derby points. Rolando broke through in his stakes debut March 15 in the six-furlong Hutcheson at Gulfstream, leading much of the way and winning by a neck. Bullard chased home for third in the San Vicente (G2), no match for Barnes and outfinished for second. Hard as Life finished sixth behind Baby Max in the one-mile Leonatus at Turfway on January 18, and has freshened up since then.

The rest come out of non-stakes races, and all make their first stakes start in the Lexington. Praetor, the morning-line favorite, romped by 7 ½ lengths in a first-level allowance at the one-turn Gulfstream mile on March 9. Native Runner also beat winners last out by daylight, though that victory came in a $50,000 starter-optional claimer; he was protected, after having broken his maiden for a $50,000 claiming tag. Gosger is the only horse who tries winners for the first time in the Lexington; he makes his first start since graduating over the one-turn mile at Gulfstream at second asking on February 15.

Lexington Stakes Contenders

These are the contenders in the Lexington Stakes, organized by post position:

1. Hard as Life: A son of Gun Runner, two turns will be nothing new to him, as all six of his career races have come at two turns. However, he tries dirt for the first time. The female family has a lot of grass, though Gun Runner and even damsire Broken Vow are solid dirt influences, making the surface change an interesting move. There’s a chance of at least an honest pace for him to rally into, but from a speed perspective, he has to take a serious step forward to be a factor in this.
2. Bracket Buster: It’s hard to know what this Victoria Oliver trainee will be, since he hasn’t raced since a flat fifth in the Street Sense last October. Though he has plenty of drills leading into the return, Oliver doesn’t tend to fire first off the layoff. It is a positive that he graduated at 1 1/16 miles, and also that his pedigree reads more for developing with age than it does for being a superstar young horse. Just on Oliver’s tendency to underperform both on layoffs and in graded company, it probably makes sense to watch him this time, though there’s upside for later in the season.
3. Bullard: He has been overshadowed by the likely Kentucky Derby favorite, his stablemate Journalism, but this Michael McCarthy trainee has also shown good talent. He won on debut and came right back to win the Bob Hope, though he regressed a bit in the San Vicente and has been freshened about three months since then. This will be Bullard’s first try at two turns, but his pedigree appeals for the stretch out to this middle distance. The biggest concern is whether he’ll be able to sit a little closer to the pace on the stretch out, as he has closed from last in all his races so far, but they’ve all been short-field sprints. But, if he can, he has a lot of upside for a barn that does quite well with layoff horses.
4. Rolando: He shapes as the speed of the speed here, showing true sprint speed over and over again at Gulfstream. He can badger another speed horse if necessary and still win, something he was able to do both in his maiden win and in his last-out victory in the Hutcheson. The question is, how much further does this son of Vekoma want to go? Both his dam’s victories came at the flat mile, and she’s a half-sister to the very nice sprinter-miler Trigger Warning, but 1 1/16 miles might be on the long side for Rolando, especially given how he didn’t stay the mile three back.
5. Native Runner: It took him five starts and a drop to the claiming ranks against off-turf horses for him to wake up and break his maiden, though he followed that up with an improved effort against starter allowance types who were originally intended for dirt. He is versatile enough to win from near the pace or well off, a level of versatility that appeals strongly. And, he keeps rider Jose Ortiz in the irons from his last-out win. The concern is he’ll have to run back to or even improve on that clear career best last out, instead of regress. But, at the price, he’s got enough tools to bet that he might.
6. Gosger: Given his pedigree—he’s a Nyquist half to the top-class turf router Harvey’s Lil Goil—his six-furlong debut was never going to be anything but a tune-up. Sure enough, he won second-out when stretched out to a mile. He has every right to like this distance (and more). He also has already shown some pace versatility, winning from a contested pace but rallying from well off it to run second in that sprint debut. In short, he is going the right way and has a lot of upside in this spot.
7. Praetor: He was a well-beaten third on debut in the mud at Saratoga, but stepping up in trip has been just the ticket, as he won while setting a contested pace going a mile at Aqueduct next out. He was laid off after that, but picked right back up where he left off by winning a dirt mile allowance at Gulfstream on March 9. His allowance win suggests he can attend the pace and doesn’t need to just set it, which is a plus. The connections inspire confidence, too: trainer Chad Brown really does bring his horses along best when they go long, and no one is riding big races better than Flavien Prat nowadays. He does need to step up from a speed perspective, but second off the lay he has every right to.
8. Hypnus: The only horse cutting back in trip for this race, he also gets a class break for this, which may help him along. He does have to bounce back: he never kicked on when seventh behind Tiztastic in the Louisiana Derby last out, and was also never a threat in the Rebel. The cut back in trip might be helpful, and he may get more involved early between the new blinkers and the switch to aggressive rider Luis Saez. It is a mixed bag, though, so demand a price.
9. Touchy: He was never a threat in his only try at two turns, finishing a well-beaten third in the Sunland Derby last out. However, there’s some upside. The Sunland track can be love-it-or-hate-it, but a smart maiden win last fall shows that Touchy can shine at Keeneland for Wesley Ward, a trainer who always comes to the meet loaded. He has tactical speed and versatility as well, something that could help him work a trip from this outside draw. And, though he still has to answer the distance question, there’s some upside being by Nyquist out of a Malibu Moon mare (though his classiest sibling did earn her stakes win in a juvenile turf sprint).

Lexington Stakes Past Winners Past Performances

There have been nine runnings of the Lexington since the main track was switched back to dirt; the first modern dirt running was in 2015, though the race was not contested in 2020 in the shortened COVID-era meet. Since then, all but one of the winners has come out of stakes company, with the most common last-out track being Fair Grounds.

Three of the nine Lexington Stakes winners in the current dirt era came out of graded-stakes races in New Orleans. Senior Investment (2017) was sixth in the Louisiana Derby (G2), My Boy Jack (2018) was third in that same race, and Owendale (2019) rebounded from an eighth-place finish in the Risen Star (G2).

Three winners came out of graded stakes at tracks other than Fair Grounds. Divining Rod (2015) was third in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) at Tampa Bay Downs, King Fury (2021) made his seasonal debut after a fifth-place finish in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs the previous fall, and Tawny Port (2022) came out of a second in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway.

Two other recent Lexington winners came out of victories in ungraded stakes. Collected (2016) won the Sunland Park Festival of Racing Stakes (a replacement for the Sunland Park Derby, which was not run that year due to an extended equine herpesvirus quarantine), while Encino (2024) came out of a win in the Battaglia Memorial at Turfway.

The only recent Lexington winner to come out of a non-stakes race was First Mission (2023). He came out of a second-out maiden victory at Fair Grounds, making it four of the last nine Lexington winners who came out of some kind of race at that track.

Lexington Stakes Undercard

The Lexington is the ninth of 11 races Saturday at Keeneland. It is one of two graded-stakes races on the card. The other is the $650,000 Jenny Wiley (G1), a top-level turf affair for older fillies and mares.

The rest of the day is full of large and competitive fields on both dirt and turf. With Keeneland’s trademark quality racing all day long, as well as a huge card at Oaklawn featuring Thorpedo Anna in the Apple Blossom Handicap (G1), there will be great racing and wagering all day long. You can watch every race with expert analysis at FanDuel TV, and place your bets online through FanDuel!

Keeneland

Lexington, Kentucky, is the home of one of the most important venues in worldwide horse racing—Keeneland. A group of horsemen opened the track in 1936, three years after the closure of the Kentucky Association track. Keeneland is unique in that it is not only home to a top-class racecourse, but also a sales ground from which top-class horses are purchased not just by US-based owners and trainers but from those as far afield as England, Ireland, France, and Dubai.

Racing fans flock to Keeneland for both top-class racing and excellent betting opportunities during two meets, held annually in April and October. Keeneland’s standing was highlighted again in 2009 when the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced its rating system which placed it right at the top at number one. Nestled in the heart of Kentucky horse country, it is also a designated National Historic Landmark.

Lexington Stakes FAQ

Q: When and where is the Lexington Stakes?

A: The Lexington (G3) is scheduled Saturday, April 12 at 5:16 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. It is the ninth race of 11 on Saturday’s card at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Lexington Stakes?

A: Todd Pletcher has the most wins in the Lexington, with five between 2005 and 2013. However, he does not have a horse in the 2025 edition. Among trainers who do, Kenny McPeek leads with two winners, Senior Investment (2017) and King Fury (2021). McPeek can make it three if either Hypnus or Native Runner wins in 2025.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Lexington Stakes?

A: The 2-1 morning-line favorite for the 2025 Lexington is Praetor, an improving allowance winner for Chad Brown and Flavien Prat. Those connections ensure a hefty amount of betting interest and make him a likely favorite, though take note if he is challenged by morning-line second choice Gosger (7-2), a runner with strong upside.

Q: Who is the best Lexington Stakes jockey?

A: Jerry Bailey leads all jockeys with six Lexington wins between 1982 and 2004, though he is now retired. Among jockeys with a call in 2025, the only one who has won before is Luis Saez, who prevailed in 2023 with First Mission. He takes the call on Hypnus for Kenny McPeek this year.

Q: Who won the 2024 Lexington Stakes?

A: Encino won the 2024 Lexington Stakes for trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux. Neither Cox nor Geroux returns to the field for 2025.

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