The 89-year-old trainer Wayne Lukas has won the Kentucky Derby four times, but not since Charismatic captured the 1999 renewal. Lukas didn’t have a Derby starter between Bravazo’s sixth-place finish in 2018 and Just Steel’s 17th in 2024. But American Promise, the second horse Lukas has ever started at Colonial Downs and first since 2012, ran his way into the May 3 Derby rolling to a 7 3/4-length victory Saturday at Colonial in the $500,000 Virginia Derby. American Promise pressed the pace of 4-5 favorite Getaway Car, easily took the early leader’s measure midway around the Virginia Derby’s one turn and never received a challenge thereafter. Cornering somewhat wide under Nik Juarez, American Promise, a bulky, galloping-type colt, stayed on stoutly to the wire, a dominant winner of the first Virginia Derby run on dirt during the spring. Racing, albeit, at a rarely run dirt distance at Colonial, American Promise shattered the track record clocking 1:46.51. “You definitely have to get position on this track,” Juarez said. “It’s just been very, very speed favoring the last few days.” :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2025: Point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Churchill Downs Inc., which owns Colonial and its casino holdings, created a three-day dirt meet this spring, turning the local derby and the Virginia Oaks, historically late-summer turf contests, into Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks qualifying races. American Promise earned 50 qualifying points, a total heretofore sufficient to nail down one of the Derby’s 20 starting slots. Left far behind in second was first-time blinkered Render Judgement, who was three-quarters of a length better than late-running third-place finisher Omaha Omaha. Getaway Car, who gave way readily in upper stretch, was a nose better than fifth-place Studlydoright. Rapture, the Brad Cox-trained strong second choice, never factored and checked in sixth. The second through fifth place finishers received, respectively, 25, 15, 10, and 5 qualifying points toward the Derby. Lukas last month took a tough loss to Getaway Car in the Sunland Derby with Caldera, who was beaten a nose. Caldera also can run his way into the Kentucky Derby on March 22 at Fair Grounds in the Louisiana Derby, while Lukas runs another potential Derby starter, Innovator, in the Jeff Ruby Steaks the same day at Turfway Park. American Promise himself last raced at Fair Grounds, finishing a respectable fifth behind the blowout pacesetting winner Magnitude. A robust son of Justify and Tapella, by Tapit, American Promise scored sixth-start maiden win on Dec. 29 at Oaklawn and had finished sixth there in the Southwest before his fifth in the Risen Star. After the Fair Grounds race, Lukas took the colt back to Oaklawn, gave him three works, and then sent him to Virginia, where American Promise broke alertly and quickly settled into second behind speedy, fast-starting Getaway Car. Over a normal track, the fractions in this one-turn, 1 1/8-mile race would’ve caused the speed to collapse, but as fast as the surface played Saturday, splits of 23.12. 45.20, and 1:08.39 proved well within American Promise’s scope. In fact, Juarez wasted no time attacking Getaway Car, his mount dwarfing the diminutive front-runner as American Promise sidled up alongside going round the turn. American Promise has a lumbering nature to the way he goes, but he absolutely can maintain a strong gallop, and Juarez used that strength to full advantage Saturday. “It’s such an honor to ride for a Hall of Famer, and to head to the Derby for him, it’s just a dream come true, Juarez said. To be fair, Juarez had never ridden American Promise before Saturday, becoming the colt’s seventh jockey in his nine races. Juarez has never ridden the Derby, either. If Lukas and the colt’s owners, John Bellinger and Brian Coelho’s BC Stables, stick with him, this is the year. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.