2025 Sunland Derby Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

Once a year, the Road to the Kentucky Derby heads to New Mexico, and that happens on Sunday, February 16, with the Sunland Derby. The 1 1/16-mile dirt race offers a $400,000 purse, and drew a field of nine to fight for those spoils. The race also offers 20-10-6-4-2 Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points: almost certainly not enough alone to earn its winner a ticket, but a good foundation if the horse who won at Sunland Park can run well in another prep or two.

The runners are an eclectic group of three-year-olds based in Southern California, the southwest, and even further east. The morning-line favorite is Grade 1-placed Getaway Car for Bob Baffert, who faced the best and the brightest of his class as a two-year-old. Other major contenders include multiple Grade 1-placed McKinzie Street, local prep winner Take Charge Tom, Kentucky shipper Touchy, and Oaklawn shipper Caldera.

No Sunland Derby winner has yet gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, though long-shot 2009 winner Mine That Bird finished fourth in this prep race at Sunland Park. Firing Line, the impressive winner of the 2015 Sunland Derby, finished a gritty second behind American Pharoah in the Run for the Roses. Stronghold, who won this race in 2024, won the Santa Anita Derby (G1) in his next start and finished seventh behind Mystik Dan in the Kentucky Derby.

Sunland Derby 2025 Information

• Race Date: Sunday, February 16, 2025
• Track: Sunland Park in Sunland Park, New Mexico
• Post Time: 4:17 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 1/16 miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Sunland Derby Odds

This is the field for the 2025 Sunland Derby including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for each horse.

Sunland Derby Prep Results

Three of the nine entrants come out of the local prep race, the one-mile Riley Allison Derby at Sunland Park on January 17. The three horses pressing on to the Sunland Derby were the first three across the wire. Take Charge Tom pressed the pace and held off a late-running Remember Big Jim to win by a length. Third across the wire was odds-on favorite Smash It, tho set a pressured pace but could not close the deal after doing all the dirty work.

Three horses in the field come out of other stakes races. Getaway Car, the likely favorite, most recently finished second behind Journalism on December 14 in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) after setting the pace for much of the race. McKinzie Street, who makes his first start for New Mexico-based trainer Justin Evans, was last seen finishing fifth behind Barnes in the San Vicente (G2) on January 4 at Santa Anita. Touchy finished second as the favorite in the Turfway Prevue, also on January 4, when he was outfinished by Coming In Hot.

The other three horses in the Sunland Derby come out of non-stakes engagements. Rail-drawn Itsmybirthday, undefeated in two starts, won a six-furlong allowance at Turf Paradise on January 16. Caldera won a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Oaklawn at third asking on January 17, while Spenard comes in off of an open-lengths victory in a six-furlong maiden-optional claimer at Turf Paradise on January 16.

Sunland Derby 2025 Contenders

These are the contenders in the 2025 Sunland Derby, organized by post position:

1. Itsmybirthday: This son of Vekoma, the second-stringer for trainer Robertino Diodoro, has not set a hoof wrong in two sprint starts so far at Turf Paradise. He won in stalk-and-pounce fashion from a middle gate on debut, then sent from the fence and led at every call to win an allowance for non-winners of two lifetime there about two weeks later. The tactical gear is a plus, as is the fact that second-place Time to Fly already came back to thrash his foes in an Arizona-sales-restricted handicap on February 3. However, this is a big step up in class, and he is mired on the rail again with a ton of speed to his outside.
2. Remember Big Jim: The only maiden in the field, he faces the toughest company of his career by far. However, he stepped up well in the Riley Allison Derby, his first two-turn try. Sent off at 30-1, he rallied smartly late to finish second, between Take Charge Tom and Smash It. With plenty of speed in this race, another step up could get him a piece underneath at a big price, though a first win in this spot might be a lot to ask.
3. Smash It: With eight starts, he is the most experienced in the field. He has been consistent as well, hitting the board in seven of eight, with the only miss being a turf route on Breeders’ Cup weekend at Del Mar. The concern is that his only other two-turn try, the Riley Allison, had him flattening out late at odds-on. To be fair, he did the dirty work on a fast pace, but there’s enough speed in this race that he may just be forced to do that again. And, as he is a Star Guitar half to Grade 2-winning sprinter Smashed, there’s a good chance he may just want to go short in general.
4. Getaway Car: The class of the field, this Bob Baffert trainee hasn’t won since August when he wired the Best Pal at Del Mar, but has been keeping top company in subsequent starts. This visit to Sunland may be the class drop he needs. He has some serious questions to answer, like if he wants to go long (despite being by Curlin, both his wins have come at one turn) and whether he can win if he does not make the top early. The distance is less of a worry at this class, but with so much speed in the race, being one-way speed may be his undoing.
5. Spenard: Speed is the name of the game for him. He has raced three times, all at one turn, and disputed the pace every time. He woke up last out, at third asking, though he was beating optional-claiming maidens at Turf Paradise, and these will be far tougher foes. There’s possibility in his pedigree for him to stretch out, and he has been able to survive a speed duel. However, in the balance, he looks more likely to be one to battle on the pace, ensure a lively clip, but find himself outmatched in the end.
6. Take Charge Tom: The top banana from the Robertino Diodoro barn, Take Charge Tom is undefeated in three starts. He has shown speed in all three of his outings, but he has either dueled or stalked every single time, meaning he is a gritty horse who has some level of a tactical gear. He ran his best race yet when stretching out to two turns for the first time in the Riley Allison Derby, also proving he can handle the Sunland Park course. The waters get deeper, but the upside is there.
7. McKinzie Street: In his first few starts he looked like a real west-coast Kentucky Derby trail candidate, but he has been well beaten in his last three. His owners did not nominate him to the Triple Crown, instead moving him from the Southern California barn of Tim Yakteen to the Southwest-based outfit of Justin Evans. The class drop should benefit him, as should the seasoning against the best of the best, though his one two-turn try in the American Pharoah (G1) was disappointing (a well-beaten third) and the price may be too short to trust his current form.
8. Touchy: He was beaten in a stakes on synthetic last out, but his maiden win came in track-and-take-over fashion on the dirt at Keeneland so the surface should not be an issue. It is also a positive that he can pass horses; with so much speed in here, that extra gear should help him along. The biggest question for him is the two-turn trip, since he has never stretched out past six and a half furlongs. However, being by Nyquist out of a mare with some class two-turn form down the distaff line, it would be no surprise to see this Wesley Ward trainee stretch out well.
9. Caldera: It took this D. Wayne Lukas trainee three starts to figure it out. However, he is going in the right direction and his last two starts have come at 1 1/16 miles, the same distance as the Sunland Derby. Of course, there are concerns: after having the blinkers strapped on he led at every call to break his maiden, meaning he is either going to have to outjump some serious speed or go back to the more tactical style he showed in his second-place finish two back. However, he can get a clean trip from the outside and Lukas has been good at a price with last-out maiden winners in recent times.

Sunland Derby Past Winners Past Performances

The Sunland Derby has been run nine times since the beginning of the Road to the Kentucky Derby points system. In that time, eight of the nine winners have come from stakes company, with the only exception being Govenor Charlie (2013), who had most recently won a maiden special weight at Santa Anita.

No last-out stakes winner has won the Sunland Derby since the advent of the points system, but every winner except for Govenor Charlie (who had no stakes experience, but came from a major circuit) and Wild On Ice (2023) had some points-race experience before. Both Chitu (2014) and Firing Line (2015) came out of second-place finishes in the Robert B. Lewis (G3), while Stronghold (2024) was second in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2). Hence (2017) and Cutting Humor (2019) both came out of seventh-place finishes in the Southwest (G3) at Oaklawn, while Slow Down Andy (2022) was most recently sixth in the Risen Star. Even Runaway Ghost, who won the Sunland Derby off of a second-place outing in the local Mine That Bird Derby, had previously run fifth in the CashCall Futurity (G1) at Los Alamitos. Wild On Ice, who lacked Kentucky Derby points-race experience, came out of a third-place run in the Mine that Bird Derby.

Sunland Derby Undercard

The Sunland Derby is the ninth of ten races on the Sunday card at Sunland Park, scheduled for post time at 4:17 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. There are four other stakes races on the card including the $250,000 Sunland Park Oaks, a 20-10-6-4-2 point race for sophomore fillies looking toward the Kentucky Oaks. The most eagerly-awaited card of the Sunland Park meet, make sure to watch all day on FanDuel TV and place your wagers at FanDuel!

Sunland Park History

Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino is located in Sunland Park, New Mexico, just eight miles from the center of El Paso, Texas. It opened in 1959 as a racetrack, conducting Thoroughbred and quarter horse races. The track operated solely as a racetrack until 1999, when New Mexico lawmakers passed a bill allowing slot machines at racetracks. Since then, it has been a combination racetrack and casino, and gaming has revitalized the purses at Sunland Park.

The highlight of the season is the Sunland Derby, a race that draws Kentucky Derby prospects from all over the country. The Sunland Park Oaks, a 20-point qualifier for the Kentucky Oaks, is contested on the same day. On the quarter horse side, its leading race is the Championship at Sunland Park, a Grade 1 race at 440 yards.

Sunland Derby FAQ

Q: Where and when is the Sunland Derby?

A: The Sunland Derby happens Sunday, February 16, 2025, at Sunland Park Racetrack in Sunland Park, New Mexico. It is the ninth of ten races on the card, and post is scheduled for 4:17 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Sunland Derby?

A: Bob Baffert and Doug O’Neill have each won the Sunland Derby three times. Baffert can take the record for himself if Getaway Car wins in 2025.

Q: Who is the favorite for the 2025 Sunland Derby?

A: Getaway Car, trained by Bob Baffert, is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the 2025 Sunland Derby. Given his experience against top-level company, including his champion stablemate Citizen Bull, he is expected to hold favoritism.

Q: Who is the best Sunland Derby jockey?

A: Victor Espinoza and Martin Garcia have won the Sunland Derby twice each, though neither takes a call this year. All the riders in the 2025 edition seek their first win.

Q: Who won the 2024 Sunland Derby?

A: Stronghold won the 2024 Sunland Derby for trainer Phil D’Amato and jockey Antonio Fresu. Neither have a runner in 2025.

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