LEXINGTON, Ky. – There will be a big change from the first Saturday of the Keeneland spring meet to the second: sundresses and sunglasses will replace overcoats and ski caps. But this much won’t change: major stakes on an 11-race card, and this time, they’ll be run before what’s sure to be the largest crowd of the meet. Postcard-perfect spring weather is in the forecast, and the cabin fever that many fans harbored during a frigid opening weekend will be cut loose in all its glory. :: Bet the Lexington Stakes with DRF Bets and get FREE access to this article and all of DRF Plus, including Keeneland selections, video, and real-time analysis. The Lexington Stakes and 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to its winner are among the excuses the locals will use for shirking their responsibilities – and good for them. Nothing beats a bright spring Saturday at Keeneland, and not much else will matter when the Lexington Stakes field turns for home. Swipe and Collected, a pair of Southern California invaders, are the likely favorites in the Grade 3, $150,000 Lexington, a 1 1/16-mile race that shares the Saturday spotlight with three other stakes. The Lexington goes as the ninth race and is a key link in multirace wagers, including an all-stakes pick four that also involves the Ben Ali (race 7), Giant’s Causeway (race 8), and Jenny Wiley (race 10).   Swipe will be making his first start since he finished second to Derby favorite Nyquist here last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The colt underwent minor ankle surgery afterward, and trainer Keith Desormeaux has been on a tight schedule for months to make it to this critical juncture. “We’d like to run in the Derby if we can,” said Desormeaux, who teamed with his younger brother Kent to win the Santa Anita Derby last Saturday with Exaggerator. “He’s recovered well and trained well. We’ll see Saturday if we can keep the plan moving.” Flavien Prat, the second-leading rider at the recently ended Santa Anita meet, gets his first ride on Swipe, who will break from post 4 in a field of 10. Realistically, Swipe, with 12 Derby points in the bank, is the only starter who would advance to the May 7 Derby by winning the Lexington, although Collected (post 10, Javier Castellano) and Riker (post 8, Florent Geroux) have enough points to be on the Derby bubble by winning Saturday. Collected, trained by Bob Baffert, won the Grade 3 Sham in early January and more recently captured the $415,000 Sunland Park Festival of Racing in New Mexico. He has 11 Derby points, but Baffert has Mor Spirit and Cupid as more serious prospects. Riker has 10 Derby points but is being geared toward the Pat Day Mile on the Derby undercard, said trainer Mark Casse. Synchrony (post 5, Shaun Bridgmohan), with two points, is the only other Lexington starter to have accumulated any Derby points. The balance of the field is filled out by six colts making their stakes debuts. The Lexington was first run in its current form in 1984. The last Lexington winner to advance to the Derby was the aptly named Derby Kitten in 2011. The race begins and ends at what otherwise is the sixteenth pole. Besides the all-stakes pick four (races 7-10), the Lexington is part of the pick six (races 6-11), the pick five (races 7-11), and another late pick four (races 8-11). First post Saturday is 12:35 p.m. Eastern, or 30 minutes earlier than usual. The Lexington goes at 4:59, and the Jenny Wiley follows at 5:32. KEY CONTENDERS Swipe, by Birdstone Last 3 Beyers: 88-78-74 ◗ A mere $5,000 yearling purchase, this colt developed a reliable stretch kick when finishing second to Nyquist a remarkable four straight times to end his 2-year-old campaign. Collected, by City Zip Last 3 Beyers: 90-85-81 ◗ Castellano will have to overcome a tough post to work out a decent trip for a colt who was slightly favored over runner-up Gettysburg in dominating the Sunland race. Synchrony, by Tapit Last 3 Beyers: 77-79-84 ◗ This Pin Oak homebred is in from Oaklawn Park for Donnie K. Von Hemel after finishing third in the Smarty Jones and sixth in the Southwest in his two starts this year. Riker, by Include Last 3 Beyers: 81-82-85 ◗ Speedy colt who earned his Derby points by winning the Grey Stakes last fall on a synthetic track at Woodbine will make his second start since being privately purchased and turned over to Casse.