Trainer Todd Pletcher has started three or more horses in the Kentucky Derby 10 times since 2000 and it looks like he’ll have at least another trio of starters for this year’s running after Kingsbarns, under Flavien Prat, scored a front-running, 3 1/2-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. Disarm, who like Kingsbarns was making his stakes debut, rallied along the inside under Joel Rosario to finish second, 2 3/4 lengths in front of Jace’s Road. The victory earned Kingsbarns 100 qualifying points to the May 6 Kentucky Derby, more than enough to solidify a spot in the starting gate. Disarm, trained by Steve Asmussen, earned 40 points, likely enough to get him into the Derby as well. The victory improved Kingsbarns’ record to 3 for 3. He joins Pletcher’s list of Derby contenders that includes Forte, last year’s 2-year-old champion who will be favored in next Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, and Tapit Trice, the Tampa Bay Derby winner who is headed to the Grade 2, $1 million Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 8. :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  Kingsbarns, a son of Uncle Mo who brought $800,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream 2-year-olds in training sale, didn’t make it to the races until Jan. 14 when he won a one-mile maiden race at Gulfstream. Last month, he won a first-level allowance going a mile and 40 yards at Tampa Bay Downs before trying the 1 3/16 miles of Saturday’s Louisiana Derby. Despite a big field of 12, the Louisiana Derby appeared to lack speed. With that in mind, Pletcher and Prat discussed putting Kingsbarns into the race “and if he made the lead the right way, great. If not, he’s proven he can sit off it,” Pletcher said by phone from Florida. Kingsbarns did break on top but, going into the first turn, Jace’s Road, under Florent Geroux, had a neck in front of him. Around the turn, Prat took the lead on Kingsbarns and Geroux was content to sit second. Kingsbarns set fractions of 24.71 seconds for the quarter, 49.60 for the half-mile and 1:14.69 while maintaining a one-length advantage over Jace’s Road. Coming to the head of the lane, Prat shook Kingsbarns up and he responded. By midstretch, the lead was 4 1/2 lengths and the race was over. Kingsbarns covered the 1 3/16 miles in 1:57.33 and returned $11 as the 9-2 second choice. He was given a 95 Beyer Speed Figure. “He jumped well, I was able to get myself in a comfortable spot and from there he did the job,” Prat said in a post-race interview broadcast on the Fair Grounds simulcast feed. “I thought it was a really great performance, if he moves forward that’s even better.” For Pletcher, it was his fifth victory in the Louisiana Derby, first since Noble Indy in 2015. He was impressed with Kingsbarns’ performance, especially at the end. “It looked like he still had his legs underneath him at the finish and looked like he galloped out well,” Pletcher said. Pletcher said Kingsbarns would return to him at Palm Beach Downs and he would train there for awhile before advancing to Churchill Downs at some point in April. Disarm ran a solid second after being boxed in along the inside for most of the race, running behind stablemate Shopper’s Revenge, who ultimately finished fourth, two lengths behind Jace’s Road. Prior to the official start of the race Jace’s Road acted up some in the gate and was backed out before being reload. Cagliostro broke through the stall doors before the official start of the race, but didn’t go far and also was reloaded. Shopper’s Revenge, who was sitting an up-close third early on, finished fourth a neck in front of Sun Thunder. Instant Coffee, the 3-2 favorite, finished sixth, unable to sustain a long, wide rally under Luis Saez. Tapit’s Conquest finished seventh, followed by Cagliostro, Baseline Beater, Denington, Curly Jack and Single Ruler. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.