West Coast Derby contenders get going in Saturday's San Vicente Stakes

Key Highlights

• Frankel on the Santa Anita turf.
• Photo by Benoit Photography, courtesy of Santa AnitaSaturday's $200,000 Grade II San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita has Buetane, idle since finishing second to Ted Noffey in the Grade I Hopeful at Saratoga in September, and Greenwich Village, a Dec.
• 6 maiden winner at Del Mar, both trained by Bob Baffert. Doug O'Neill fields two challengers, Acknowledgemeplz and Thirsty Rebel, and the Mark Glatt-trained So Happy rounds out the field.
• Buetane is the narrow favorite over Acknowledgemeplz. Saturday's $125,000 Pasco at Tampa Bay Downs didn't draw sufficient entries and was reposted as an "extra" for Sunday, but again was dropped for lack of entries. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhile the San Vicente eventually could prove important as a prep for the Run for the Roses, neither race was included in the official "Road to the Kentucky Derby" schedule.
• Nyquist won the San Vicente in 2016 and followed that with victories in the Florida and Kentucky derbies. The Path to the Oaks Baffert has three of the five entries in Saturday's $100,000 Santa Ynez, 7 furlongs at Santa Anita. Explora finished second in the Grade II Del Mar Debutante, won the Grade II Oak Leaf at Santa Anita and finished second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Bottle of Rouge won the Del Mar Debutante but then was sixth in the Breeders' Cup.