On the Friday before the 2011 Kentucky Derby the Kentucky Oaks race is held for three-year-old fillies. The race is considered Grade 1 and is 1 1/8 miles with the horses carrying 121 pound. The purse is $500,000 and nice bunch of flowers for the girls. Plum Pretty managed to hold off a late challenge from St. John's River to get her second-consecutive win.
Plum Pretty started the day with 5-to-1 odds and was 7-to-1 at post time. She paid out at $14.60, $7.00, and $4.60.
And Down The Stretch They Come has description of the race:
Martin Garcia rode a masterful race on Plum Pretty, sitting her just off the early speed and in the clear of any possible trouble. St. John's River was pulled over to the rail by Rosie Napravnik right after leading the gate en route to a rail riding trip around the track.
Inside the final furlong, Napravnik guided St. John's River off the rail in on last attempt to run down Plum Pretty. She got within a neck of the winner but didn't have time to make a final surge to the front.
The Kentucky Oaks is a nice warm up for Saturday's Derby and the ladies didn't disappoint the fans.
LOUISVILLE, KY - MAY 06: Jockey Martin Garcia (top), riding Plum Pretty #12 edges out Jockey Rosie Napravnik, riding St. John's River #13 to win the 137th Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 6, 2011 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The 2011 Kentucky Derby post time is at 6:24 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, May 7th and SB Nation has everything you need to prepare for it - current Derby odds, contender profiles, field updates and more. You can find all of that and more at the SB Nation 2011 Kentucky Derby StoryStream. Also, our horse racing blog And Down The Stretch They Come has two must-read resources for Derby fans: A Beginner's Guide To Following Horse Racing and a glossary of horse racing terms.